What element is obtained from bauxite?
Bauxite Bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(OH)), mixed with the two iron oxides goethite and haematite, the aluminium clay mineral kaolinite and small amounts of anatase (TiO) and ilmenite (FeTiO or FeO.TiO). In 1821 the French geologist Pierre Berthier discovered bauxite near the village of Les Baux in Provence, southern France. Numerous classification schemes have been proposed for bauxite but, , there was no consensus. Vadász (1951) distinguished lateritic bauxites (silicate bauxites) from
Bauxite tailings are also produced. Annual production of alumina in 2015 was approximately 115 million tonnes resulting in the generation of about 150 million tonnes of bauxite tailings/residue. There are over 60 manufacturing operations across the world using the Bayer process to make alumina from bauxite ore. Bauxite ore is mined, normally in open cast mines, and transferred to an alumina refinery for processing. To extract the alumina, the soluble part of the bauxite ore is dissolved using sodium hydroxide under conditions of high temperature and pressure. The insoluble part of the bauxite (the residue) is removed, giving rise to a solution