Abstract

Bauxite is a naturally occurring, heterogeneous material composed primarily of one or more aluminum hydroxide minerals, plus various mixtures of silica, iron oxide, titania, aluminosilicate, and other impurities in minor or trace amounts. The principal aluminum hydroxide minerals found in varying proportions with bauxites are gibbsite and the polymorphs boehmite and diaspore. Bauxites are typically classified according to their intended commercial application: abrasive, cement, chemical, metallurgical, refractory, etc. The bulk of world bauxite production (approximately 85%) is used as feed for the manufacture of alumina via a wet chemical caustic leach method commonly known as the Bayer process. Subsequently, the majority of the resulting alumina produced from this refining process is in turn employed as the feedstock for the production of aluminum metal by the electrolytic reduction of alumina in a molten bath of natural or synthetic cryolite (Na3AlF6), the Hall-Héroult process. Source: http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/bauxite/

Author(s)

Kees Klein Goldewijk & Jonathan Fink-Jensen, Utrecht University

Production date

2014-11-1

Variable(s)

Bauxite mine production, in thousand metric tons

Keywords

Bauxite, mine production

Time period

1880-2012

Geographical coverage

Worldwide

Methodologies used for data collection and processing

Data inventory

Period of collection

Data collectors

British Geological Survey (BGS) U.S. Bureau of Mines, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) United Nations (UN Stats)


Good

General references

British Geological Survey, World Mineral Statistics, website: https://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/statistics/worldArchive.html (Last visited on: 13-11-2014).

Mitchell, B.R., International Historical Statistics - Africa, Asia & Oceania 1750-2005 (London, 2007).

Mitchell, B.R., International Historical Statistics - Europe (London, 2007).

Mitchell, B.R., International Historical Statistics - The Americas 1750-2005 (London, 2007).

Schmitz, Christopher J., World Non-Ferrous Metal Production and Prices, 1700-1976 (London, 1979).

UN Stats, Statistical database, website: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/databases.htm (Last visited on: 13-11-2014).

U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United States, website: http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/historical-statistics/ (Last visited on: 13-11-2014).

Caribbean

Anguilla[No Data]

Antigua and Barbuda1500 (5)-2013 (21)

Aruba[No Data]

Bahamas1500 (5)-2013 (23)

Barbados1500 (5)-2016 (28)

Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba[No Data]

British Virgin Islands[No Data]

Cayman Islands[No Data]

Cuba1500 (8)-2016 (35)

Curaçao[No Data]

Dominica1500 (5)-2016 (21)

Dominican Republic1500 (6)-2018 (38)

Grenada1500 (5)-2013 (21)

Guadeloupe[No Data]

Haiti1500 (6)-2018 (36)

Jamaica1500 (6)-2018 (35)

Martinique[No Data]

Montserrat[No Data]

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