Aluminium - Enriching A Billion Lives

The 3 rd most abundant element in the earth’s crust is Aluminium, just after oxygen and silicon. The production of Aluminium starts with its primary raw material – Bauxite ore which is the world’s primary source of the metal. Not surprisingly, Aluminium is the second most use metal in the world after iron & steel. From household utensils to space satellites, there are thousands of applications of the metal. The bauxite ore occurs mostly in the tropics. It is usually deposited in horizontal layers with either a little or no overburden.   These layers are usually found mixed with other clay minerals, iron oxides, and titanium dioxide. The ore itself is covered in a red jacket of mud and rock imparted to it by the oxides of iron present in the soil. For recovery, washing the ore is a must before it is passed for processing. Thus, it is first transported to crushing and washing plants before being sent for alumina extraction. The sludge is usually deposited in tailing pond