• Biodiversity

    Restoring pre-mining biodiversity requires areas to be protected from erosion and for the original topsoil to be managed to retain its value as a seed source and growing medium. | Learn more

  • Community Engagement

    Mining companies recognise the value of local knowledge and that by encouraging empowerment and building relationships there can be long-term sustainable outcomes for all parties… | Learn more
  • Responsible Sourcing

    A sustainable mining operation maintains the natural capital of the area in which it is located through sound environmental management systems. | Learn more

  • Water Management

    The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) collects data on fresh water use, consumption and water stress indicators to track the industry’s impact on water resources. | Learn more

  • Energy Efficiency

    Globally, and despite declining ore quality, the alumina refining industry reduced the energy intensity of its operations by 9% between 2006 and 2010, while increasing production by 15%. | Learn more

  • Health & Wellbeing

    A healthy community means healthy families, which means a more safe and motivated workforce; thus there is a direct link between community health and the productivity of a mining or refining operation. | Learn more

  • Mining Process

    The aluminium-containing bauxite ores gibbsite, böhmite and diaspore are the basic raw material for primary aluminium production. | Learn more

  • Refining Process

    The Bayer Process was invented and patented in 1887 by Austrian scientist Karl Josef Bayer. Two to three tonnes of bauxite are required to produce one tonne of alumina. | Learn more

  • Bauxite Residue Management

    The industry is constantly working on new residue treatment methods to increase the removal of alkaline fluids and salts. | Learn more

  • Employment & Education

    Bauxite miners are investing in to provide social and economic benefits to the communities in which they operate. | Learn more

  • Sustainable Development​

    At the heart of every bauxite mining and refining operation lie local communities, comprising the workforce and their families (often across multiple generations)… | Learn more

  • Mine Rehabilitation

    Globally, bauxite mining disturbs a relatively small area of land compared to other types of open cast mining. Around one square metre of land is newly opened up each year… | Learn more

Sustainable Bauxite Mining

About 90% of global bauxite supplies are found in tropical and subtropical areas, with 73% found in just five countries: Guinea, Brazil, Jamaica, Australia and India. Guinea has the largest supply of bauxites with 5.3 billion tonnes (28.4% of the total global supply).

The aluminium production process can be broken down into three stages; first bauxites, which contain aluminium, are extracted from the ground. Second, bauxites are processed into alumina or aluminium oxide, and finally in stage three, pure aluminium is produced using electrolytic reduction, a process in which aluminium oxide is broken down into its components using electric current.

The aluminium industry’s objective is a long-term, sustainable bauxite mining industry with acceptably low social and environmental impacts during operation and post-closure. Sustainable bauxite mining is not a “one-size fits all” prescriptive process but involves risk management and applying technologies appropriate to the circumstances of each mine.

Aluminium facts

1 | Sustainable mining

Sustainable mining operations protect and restore the biodiversity of the areas in which they are located.

2 | Reduced energy
The energy intensity of alumina production has been reduced by almost 20% since 2006.
3 | Community investment
On average each mining operation invests over US$ 400,000 in support of community programmes.

Primary Production

Turning energy into Aluminium