Aluminium is the third most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, but does not occur as a metal naturally. The first step in producing aluminium is mining its ore – bauxite.
Bauxite is generally extracted by open cast mining, being almost always found near the surface
Bauxite occurs mainly in tropical and sub-tropical areas, like Africa, the West Indies, South America, Australia & India – there are some small deposits located in Europe.
India is the Fifth largest producer of bauxite, supplying around 6 per cent of global production.
Bauxite mining has five steps: Preparation of the mining area; bauxite mining; crushing; ore transport; and rehabilitation.
