section_path: Production and refinement
section_name: Production and refinement
paragraph_text: Production and refinement
  
  The production of aluminium starts with the extraction of bauxite rock from the ground. The bauxite is processed and transformed using the Bayer process into alumina, which is then processed using the Hall–Héroult process, resulting in the final aluminium.
  
  Aluminium production is highly energy-consuming, and so the producers tend to locate smelters in places where electric power is both plentiful and inexpensive. Production of one kilogram of aluminium requires 7 kilograms of oil energy equivalent, as compared to 1.5 kilograms for steel and 2 kilograms for plastic. As of 2019, the world's largest smelters of aluminium are located in China, India, Russia, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates, while China is by far the top producer of aluminium with a world share of fifty-five percent.
  
  According to the International Resource Panel 's Metal Stocks in Society report, the global per capita stock of aluminium in use in society (i.e. in cars, buildings, electronics, etc.) is 80 kg (180 lb). Much of this is in more-developed countries (350–500 kg (770–1,100 lb) per capita) rather than less-developed countries (35 kg (77 lb) per capita).