Ames Research Center (ARC), commonly known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley.
It consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al(OH) 3, boehmite Î³-AlO(OH) and diaspore Î±-AlO(OH), mixed with the two iron oxides goethite and haematite, the clay mineral kaolinite and small amounts of anatase TiO 2.n 2009, Australia was the top producer of bauxite with almost one-third of the world's production, followed by China, Brazil, India, and Guinea. Although aluminium demand is rapidly increasing, known reserves of its bauxite ore are sufficient to meet the worldwide demands for aluminium for many centuries.
First the Bauxite ore has to be converted to a mineral called Alumina (aluminum oxide Al2O3), by a method called the Bayer process. In this process, the Bauxite ore is treated with hot sodium hydroxide solution (2NaOH + 3H2O), which dissolves only the Alumina from the Bauxite.irst the Bauxite ore has to be converted to a mineral called Alumina (aluminum oxide Al2O3), by a method called the Bayer process. In this process, the Bauxite ore is treated with hot sodium hydroxide solution (2NaOH + 3H2O), which dissolves only the Alumina from the Bauxite.