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Aluminum Production by George Thomas Kurean The New Book of World Rankings - 1984

Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earth's crust, of which it constitutes about 8% by weight. (Oxygen 47.3%, Silcon 29.1%, Aluminum 8.1%, Iron 4.6%, Calicium 3.3% Sodium 2.5% Potassium 2.5%, Magnesium 1.7%) It does not occur uncombined but as a constituent of many other metals such as bauxite, mica, feldspar and alum.

Although aluminum compounds were used in antiquity, the metal was not isolated until the 19th century; The commercial process by which aluminum's produced today was developed only in 1886 by two metallurgists working independently; C. M. Hall, a student in Oberlin college, and Paul Herouit, a Frenchman. The Hall-Heroult process is critically dependent on the availability of cheap hydroelectric power. Because of its structural characteristics the metal is used widely in high-tension power transmission, aircraft and kitchenware.

Highlights & Findings: There are only half a dozen major producers of aluminum; in others production is marginal. It is interesting to note that none of the Third World bauxite producers appear among the top aluminum producers, except Ghana.

World & Regional Summaries: World production of aluminum in 1978 was 16,960 million tons, double that of the 1969 production of 8,930 million.

Concentration Index:The top three producers account for 47.2% of the world total.

Number of Countries:39

Midpoint:142,000 tons

Period Covered:1980

Bauxite & Alumina is 100% imported
Major Sources 95-98 are Australia, Guinea, Jamaica, Brazil
Major Uses are Aluminum Production, Refractories, Abrasives and Chemicals