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    Bauxite and Alumina

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    hobbiton04
    This document summarizes statistics on bauxite and alumina production and use in the United States. It notes that the US imports nearly all of its bauxite and about half of its alumina. Most domestic bauxite production is used for non-metallurgical purposes, while imported bauxite and alumina are primarily converted to aluminum. The document also provides global production statistics and reserves of bauxite and discusses trends in the industry.

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    Bauxite and Alumina

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    hobbiton04
    17 views2 pages
    This document summarizes statistics on bauxite and alumina production and use in the United States. It notes that the US imports nearly all of its bauxite and about half of its alumina. Most domestic bauxite production is used for non-metallurgical purposes, while imported bauxite and alumina are primarily converted to aluminum. The document also provides global production statistics and reserves of bauxite and discusses trends in the industry.

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    This document summarizes statistics on bauxite and alumina production and use in the United States. It notes that the US imports nearly all of its bauxite and about half of its alumina. Most domestic bauxite production is used for non-metallurgical purposes, while imported bauxite and alumina are primarily converted to aluminum. The document also provides global production statistics and reserves of bauxite and discusses trends in the industry.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    17 views2 pages

    Bauxite and Alumina

    Uploaded by

    hobbiton04
    This document summarizes statistics on bauxite and alumina production and use in the United States. It notes that the US imports nearly all of its bauxite and about half of its alumina. Most domestic bauxite production is used for non-metallurgical purposes, while imported bauxite and alumina are primarily converted to aluminum. The document also provides global production statistics and reserves of bauxite and discusses trends in the industry.

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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    of 2

    32

    BAUXITE AND ALUMINA1


    (Data in thousand metric dry tons, unless otherwise noted) Domestic Production and Use: Domestic ore, which for many years has accounted for less than 1% of the U.S. requirement for bauxite, was used in the production of nonmetallurgical products, such as abrasives, chemicals, and refractories. Thus, nearly all bauxite consumed in the United States was imported; of the total, about 95% was converted to alumina. Also, the United States imported approximately one-half of the alumina it required. Of the total alumina used, about 90% went to primary aluminum smelters and the remainder went to nonmetallurgical uses. Annual alumina capacity was 5.75 million tons, with three Bayer refineries in operation and one temporarily idled at midyear. Salient StatisticsUnited States:2 Production, bauxite, mine Imports of bauxite for consumption3 Imports of alumina4 Exports of bauxite3 Exports of alumina4 Shipments of bauxite from Government stockpile excesses3 Consumption, apparent, bauxite and alumina (in aluminum equivalents)5 Price, bauxite, average value U.S. imports (f.a.s.) dollars per ton Stocks, bauxite, industry, yearend3 Net import reliance,6 bauxite and alumina, as a percentage of apparent consumption Recycling: None. Import Sources (1998-2001):7 Bauxite: Guinea, 39%; Jamaica, 28%; Brazil, 14%; Guyana, 11%; and other, 8%. Alumina: Australia, 63%; Suriname, 15%; Jamaica, 9%; and other, 13%. Total: Australia, 29%; Guinea, 21%; Jamaica, 19%; Brazil, 9%; and other, 22%. Tariff: Import duties on bauxite and alumina were abolished in 1971 by Public Law 92-151. Only imports from nonnormal-trade-relations nations were dutiable. Countries that supplied commercial quantities of bauxite or alumina to the United States during the first 8 months of 2002 had normal-trade-relations status. Depletion Allowance: 22% (Domestic), 14% (Foreign). Government Stockpile: Stockpile Status9-30-028 Material Bauxite, metal grade: Jamaica-type Suriname-type Bauxite, refractorygrade, calcined Uncommitted inventory 1,710 42 Committed inventory 5,350 1,450 2 Authorized for disposal 1,710 42 Disposal plan FY 2002 2,030 44 Disposals FY 2002 2,530 1 1998 NA 11,600 4,050 108 1,280 3,300 5,000 23 1,860 100 1999 NA 10,400 3,810 168 1,230 4,180 4,870 22 1,440 100 2000 NA 9,030 3,820 147 1,090 1,100 3,840 23 1,300 100 2001 NA 8,670 3,100 88 1,250 3,640 3,670 23 1,750 100 2002e NA 8,500 3,000 70 1,200 1,000 3,300 21 1,300 100

    Prepared by Patricia A. Plunkert [(703) 648-4979, pplunker@usgs.gov, fax: (703) 648-7757]

    33

    BAUXITE AND ALUMINA


    Events, Trends, and Issues: World production of bauxite increased slightly compared with that for 2001. Based on production data from the International Aluminium Institute, world alumina production during the first 2 quarters of 2002 was essentially unchanged from that for the same period in 2001. The 2003 fiscal year Annual Materials Plan (AMP) submitted to Congress by the Defense National Stockpile Center proposed the sale of 2.03 million dry metric tons of Jamaica-type, metallurgical-grade bauxite and 43,700 calcined metric tons of refractory-grade bauxite from the National Defense Stockpile during the period October 1, 2002, to September 30, 2003. These or remaining inventory, whichever are lower, are the maximum amounts that could be sold under the new AMP and not necessarily the amounts that would actually be offered for sale.9 Spot prices for metallurgical-grade alumina, as published by Metal Bulletin, fluctuated during the year. The published price range began the year at $130 to $140 per ton. By the end of May, the price range had increased to $157 to $160 per ton before beginning a downward slide. At the end of September, the price range was $142 to $147 per ton. World Bauxite Mine Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base: Reserves and reserve base estimates for Australia and Brazil have been revised based on new information from official country sources. Mine production 2001 2002e NA NA 53,300 55,000 13,900 13,200 9,500 10,000 15,700 16,000 1,990 1,500 8,390 9,000 12,400 13,000 4,000 3,700 4,510 4,500 4,400 5,000 10,400 9,810 138,000 141,000 Reserves10 20,000 4,400,000 1,800,000 700,000 7,400,000 700,000 770,000 2,000,000 200,000 580,000 320,000 3,600,000 22,000,000 Reserve base10 40,000 8,700,000 2,900,000 2,300,000 8,600,000 900,000 1,400,000 2,500,000 250,000 600,000 350,000 4,700,000 33,000,000

    United States Australia Brazil China Guinea Guyana India Jamaica Russia Suriname Venezuela Other countries World total (rounded)

    World Resources: Bauxite resources are estimated to be 55 to 75 billion tons, located in South America (33%), Africa (27%), Asia (17%), Oceania (13%), and elsewhere (10%). Domestic resources of bauxite are inadequate to meet long-term demand, but the United States and most other major aluminum-producing countries have essentially inexhaustible subeconomic resources of aluminum in materials other than bauxite. Substitutes: Bauxite is the only raw material used in the production of alumina on a commercial scale in the United States. However, the vast U.S. resources of clay are technically feasible sources of alumina. Other domestic raw materials, such as anorthosite, alunite, coal wastes, and oil shales, offer additional potential alumina sources. Although it would require new plants using new technology, alumina from these nonbauxitic materials could satisfy the demand for primary metal, refractories, aluminum chemicals, and abrasives. Synthetic mullite, produced from kyanite and sillimanite, substitutes for bauxite-based refractories. Although more costly, silicon carbide and alumina-zirconia substitute for bauxite-based abrasives.
    e 1

    Estimated. NA Not available. Zero. See also Aluminum. As a general rule, 4 tons of dried bauxite is required to produce 2 tons of alumina, which, in turn, provides 1 ton of primary aluminum metal. 2 Includes U.S. Virgin Islands. 3 Includes all forms of bauxite, expressed as dry equivalent weights. 4 Calcined equivalent weights. 5 The sum of U.S. bauxite production and net import reliance. 6 Defined as imports - exports + adjustments for Government and industry stock changes (all in aluminum equivalents). Treated as separate commodities, the net import reliance equaled 100% for bauxite and 30% for alumina in 2002. For the years 1998-2001, the net import reliance was 100% for bauxite and ranged from 29% to 36% for alumina. 7 Aluminum equivalents. 8 See Appendix B for definitions. 9 Defense Logistics Agency, 2002, FY 2003 Annual Materials Plan announced: Fort Belvoir, VA, Defense Logistics Agency news release, October 1, 2 p. 10 See Appendix C for definitions.

    U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2003

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