bauxite

thumb|Reddish-brown bauxite thumb|Bauxite with Penny (United States coin)|US penny for comparison thumb|QEMSCAN mineral maps of bauxite ore-forming [[pisoliths]]

AI overview

Bauxite is a reddish-brown mineral ore that serves as the primary source of aluminum, one of the most widely used metals in modern industry. It matters because extracting aluminum from bauxite enables the production of countless products, from aircraft and automobiles to everyday items like aluminum foil and cans.

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Wikidata facts

Image: Bauxite.jpg

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OpenStreetMap tag: resource=bauxite
Commons category: Bauxite
MCN code: 3802.90.50
Mohs' hardness: 8.8

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Article

16 sections

Contents

Formation
Production and reserves
Aluminium production
Maritime safety
Source of gallium
Socio-ecological impacts
Red mud
Conflicts
Guinea
Ghana
Vietnam
India
See also
References
Further reading
External links

thumb|Reddish-brown bauxite thumb|Bauxite with Penny (United States coin)|US penny for comparison thumb|QEMSCAN mineral maps of bauxite ore-forming [[pisoliths]]

Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH)), mixed with the two iron oxides goethite (FeO(OH)) and hematite (), the aluminium clay mineral kaolinite () and small amounts of anatase () and ilmenite ( or ). Bauxite appears dull in luster and is reddish-brown, white, or tan.