Bauxite ore, the raw material of aluminum metal.
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al(OH)3, boehmite γ-AlO(OH), and diaspore α-AlO(OH), in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and haematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2. Bauxite was named after the village Les Baux in southern France, where it was first recognised as containing aluminium and named by the French geologist Pierre Berthier in 1821. Lateritic bauxites (silicate bauxites) are distinguished from karst bauxite ores (carbonate bauxites). The early discovered carbonate bauxites occur predominantly in Europe and Jamaica above carbonate rocks (limestone and dolomite), where they were formed by lateritic weathering and residual accumulation of intercalated clays or by clay dissolution residues of the limestone. The lateritic bauxites are found mostly in the countries of the tropics. They were formed by lateritization of various silicate rocks such as granite, gneiss, basalt, syenite, and shale. In comparison with the iron-rich laterites, the formation of bauxites depends even more on intense weathering conditions in a location with very good drainage. This enables the dissolution of the kaolinite and the precipitation of the gibbsite. Zones with highest aluminium content are frequently located below a ferruginous surface layer. The aluminium hydroxide in the lateritic bauxite deposits is almost exclusively gibbsite.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Photo credit: © Scenics & Science / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: alloy, aluminum, bauxite, material, metal., metallurgy, mining, ore, raw, strip
