What Is Bauxite?

With over 30 years of metals and recycling experience, David D’Addario serves as the chairman and CEO of New Day Aluminum, LLC. David D’Addario also leads the subsidiaries Noranda Alumina and Noranda Bauxite, which conduct alumina-refining and bauxite-mining operations. 

Bauxite is a type of rock comprised of aluminum and clay minerals combined with some insoluble materials, and it is the world’s chief source of aluminum. It is named after Les Baux, the French village where it was first discovered in the early 1800s. 

As the third-most abundant element in the world, it makes up approximately 7 percent of the earth’s crust in known reserves of around 29 billion metric tons. It is estimated that between 26 and 46 billion more metric tons of bauxite resources remain undiscovered. At current extraction rates, the world’s known and unknown bauxite reserves could last for up to 340 years.