Aluminum ore: deposits, mining

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In modern industry, aluminum ore is the most demanded raw material. The rapid development of science and technology has expanded the scope of its application. What is aluminum ore and where it is mined is described in this article.

Industrial value of aluminum

Aluminum is considered the most common metal. By the number of deposits in the earth's crust, it ranks third. Aluminum is also known to everyone as an element in the periodic table, which belongs to light metals.

Aluminum ore is a natural raw material from which this metal is obtained. It is mainly mined from bauxites, which contain aluminum oxides (alumina) in the largest amount - from 28 to 80%. Other rocks - alunite, nepheline and nepheline-apatite are also used as raw materials for aluminum production, but they are of poorer quality and contain significantly less alumina.

In non-ferrous metallurgy, aluminum ranks first. The fact is that due to its characteristics it is used in many industries. So, this metal is used intransport engineering, packaging production, construction, for the manufacture of various consumer goods. Aluminum is also widely used in electrical engineering.

To understand the importance of aluminum for humanity, just look at the household items that we use every day. A lot of household items are made of aluminum: these are parts for electrical appliances (refrigerator, washing machine, etc.), dishes, sports equipment, souvenirs, interior elements. Aluminum is often used for the production of various types of containers and packaging. For example, cans or disposable foil containers.

Types of aluminum ores

Aluminum is found in more than 250 minerals. Of these, the most valuable for industry are bauxite, nepheline and alunite. Let's dwell on them in more detail.

Bauxite ore

In nature, pure aluminum is not found. It is mainly obtained from aluminum ore - bauxite. It is a mineral that mostly consists of aluminum hydroxides, as well as oxides of iron and silicon. Due to the high content of alumina (from 40 to 60%), bauxite is used as a raw material for the production of aluminum.

Physical properties of aluminum ore:

• an opaque mineral of red and gray in various shades;
• the hardest samples are 6 on the mineralogical scale;
• The density of bauxites, depending on the chemical composition, ranges from 2900-3500 kg/m³.

Deposits of bauxite ore are concentrated in the equatorial and tropical zones of the earth. More ancient deposits are located on the territory of Russia.

How bauxite aluminum ore is formed

Bauxites are formed from monohydrate alumina hydrate, boehmite and diaspore, trihydrate hydrate - hydrargillite and accompanying minerals hydroxide and iron oxide.

Depending on the composition of nature-forming elements, there are three groups of bauxite ores:

1. Monohydrate bauxites - contain alumina in monohydrate form.
2. Trihydrate - these minerals consist of alumina in trihydrate form.
3. Mixed - this group includes the previous aluminum ores in combination.

Deposits of raw materials are formed due to the weathering of acidic, alkaline, and sometimes basic rocks, or as a result of the gradual deposition of large amounts of alumina on the sea and lake bottom.

Alunite ore

This type of deposit contains up to 40% aluminum oxide. Alunite ore is formed in the water basin and coastal zones under conditions of intense hydrothermal and volcanic activity. An example of such deposits is Lake Zaglinskoye in the Lesser Caucasus.

The rock is porous. It mainly consists of kaolinites and hydromicas. Of industrial interest are ore with an alunite content of more than 50%.

Nepheline

This is an aluminum ore of igneous origin. It is a full crystalline alkalinebreed. Depending on the composition and technological features of processing, several grades of nepheline ore are distinguished:

• first grade – 60–90% nepheline; it contains more than 25% alumina; processing is carried out by sintering;
• second grade - 40-60% nepheline, the amount of alumina is slightly lower - 22-25%; enrichment required during processing;
• third grade - nepheline minerals that do not represent any industrial value.

Global aluminum mining

For the first time, aluminum ore was mined in the first half of the 19th century in the south-east of France, near the town of Box. This is where the name bauxite comes from. At first, this branch of industry developed at a slow pace. But when humanity appreciated what kind of aluminum ore is useful for production, the scope of aluminum has expanded significantly. Many countries have begun searching for deposits in their territories. Thus, the world production of aluminum ores began to gradually increase. The figures confirm this fact. So, if in 1913 the global volume of mined ore was 540 thousand tons, then in 2014 it was more than 180 million tons.

Also gradually increased the number of countries producing aluminum ore. Today there are about 30 of them. But over the past 100 years, the leading countries and regions have been constantly changing. So, at the beginning of the 20th century, North America and Western Europe were the world leaders in the extraction of aluminum ore and its production. These two regions accounted for about 98%global production. A few decades later, in terms of quantitative indicators of the aluminum industry, the countries of Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Soviet Union became leaders. And already in the 1950s and 1960s, Latin America became the leader in terms of production. And in the 1980s-1990s. there was a rapid breakthrough in the aluminum industry in Australia and Africa. In the current world trend, the main aluminum mining countries are Australia, Brazil, China, Guinea, Jamaica, India, Russia, Suriname, Venezuela and Greece.

Ore deposits in Russia

In terms of production of aluminum ores, Russia ranks seventh in the world ranking. Although the deposits of aluminum ores in Russia provide the country with metal in large quantities, it is not enough to fully supply the industry. Therefore, the state is forced to buy bauxite in other countries.

In total, there are 50 ore deposits in Russia. This number includes both places where the mineral is being mined, as well as deposits that have not yet been developed.

Most of the ore reserves are located in the European part of the country. Here they are located in the Sverdlovsk, Arkhangelsk, Belgorod regions, in the Komi Republic. All these regions contain 70% of the country's proven ore reserves.

Aluminum ores in Russia are still mined in old bauxite deposits. These areas include the Radynskoye field in the Leningrad region. Also, due to the shortage of raw materials, Russia uses other aluminum ores,whose deposits are distinguished by the worst quality of mineral deposits. But they are still suitable for industrial purposes. So, in Russia, nepheline ores are mined in large quantities, which also make it possible to obtain aluminum.