# Aluminium

The light metal made from bauxite and vast amounts of electricity, used in cars, cans, buildings and power lines; China smelts 60%.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/

Base metals · No. 7

- EU strategic
- EU critical 2023
- US critical 2025
- HHI 3,719 · highly concentrated
 Base metals · Foundation · Matter

Smelting one tonne of aluminium uses as much electricity as a US household consumes in a whole year.

Chart: Illustration: Aluminium

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Bauxite forms where tropical rain leaches silica from rock, leaving aluminium-rich soil. It is strip-mined in Guinea, Australia, China and Brazil, then refined to alumina.

##### Three things to know

1. About 4 tonnes of dried bauxite make 2 tonnes of alumina, enough for a single tonne of aluminium.
2. Aluminium weighs a third as much as steel, and a thin oxide film protects it from corrosion.
3. China absorbed 86.9% of the world's $12.1 billion of bauxite imports in 2024.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Bauxite**Strip-mined from tropical laterite soils
2. 2 **Alumina**Bayer process, caustic soda digestion
3. 3 **Smelting**Electrolysis splits alumina into metal
4. 4 **Casting**Ingot, billet and slab
5. 5 **Shaping**Rolled and extruded into sheet, foil
 Covered in [What makes something a commodityCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/what-is-a-commodity/)[From ground to marketCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/from-ground-to-market/)[Supply, demand and the cost curveCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/supply-demand-costs/)[Reserves, stocks and depletionCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/reserves-stocks-depletion/)[Prices and cyclesCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/prices-and-cycles/)[How commodities tradeCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/how-commodities-trade/)and 18 more

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/links/index.md)