In modern industry, aluminum ore is the most popular raw material. The rapid development of science and technology has allowed to expand the scope of its application. What is aluminum ore and where it is mined is described in this article.
Industrial value of aluminum
Aluminum is considered the most common metal. By the number of deposits in the earth's crust, it takes third place. Aluminum is also known to everyone as an element in the periodic table, which refers to light metals.
Aluminum ore is a natural raw material from which this metal is obtained . It is mainly mined from bauxite, which contains aluminum oxides (alumina) in the largest amount - from 28 to 80%. Other rocks - alunite, nepheline and nepheline-apatite are also used as raw materials for aluminum, but they are of poorer quality and contain significantly less alumina.
In non-ferrous metallurgy, aluminum ranks first. The fact is that due to its characteristics it is used in many industries. So, this metal is used in transport engineering, packaging production, construction, for the manufacture of various consumer goods. Also, aluminum is widely used in electrical engineering.
To understand how important aluminum is for humanity, it is enough to look at the everyday things that we use everyday. A lot of household items are made of aluminum: these are parts for electrical appliances (refrigerator, washing machine, etc.), dishes, sports equipment, souvenirs, interior elements. Aluminum is often used for the production of various types of containers and packaging. For example, cans or disposable foil containers.
Types of Aluminum Ores
Aluminum is found in more than 250 minerals. Of these, bauxite, nepheline and alunite are the most valuable to industry. Let us dwell on them in more detail.
Bauxite ore
In nature, pure aluminum does not occur. Basically, it is obtained from aluminum ore - bauxite. It is a mineral that for the most part consists of aluminum hydroxides, as well as iron and silicon oxides. Due to the high alumina content (from 40 to 60%), bauxite is used as a raw material for the production of aluminum.
Physical properties of aluminum ore:
- an opaque mineral of red and gray in various shades;
- the hardness of the strongest samples is 6 on the mineralogical scale;
- the density of bauxite, depending on the chemical composition, ranges from 2900-3500 kg / m³.
Bauxite ore deposits are concentrated in the equatorial and tropical zones of the earth. More ancient deposits are located in Russia.
How bauxite aluminum ore is formed
Bauxites are formed from a single-water hydrate of alumina, boehmite and diaspora, a three-water hydrate - hydrargillite and associated minerals of hydroxide and iron oxide.
Three groups of bauxite ores are distinguished depending on the composition of nature-forming elements:
- Monohydrate bauxite - contain alumina in a single-water form.
- Trihydrate - such minerals are composed of alumina in a three-water form.
- Mixed - This group includes the combination of previous aluminum ores.
Deposits of raw materials are formed due to weathering of acidic, alkaline, and sometimes basic rocks, or as a result of the gradual deposition of a large amount of alumina on the sea and lake bottom.
Alunite Ores
This type of deposit contains up to 40% alumina. Alunite ore is formed in the water basin and coastal zones in conditions of intense hydrothermal and volcanic activity. An example of such deposits is Zaglinskoe Lake in the Lesser Caucasus.
The breed is porous. It mainly consists of kaolinites and hydromica. Ore with an alunite content of more than 50% is of industrial interest.
Nepheline
This is an aluminum ore of igneous origin. It is a full-crystalline alkaline rock. Depending on the composition and technological features of processing, several sorts of nepheline ore are distinguished:
- first grade - 60–90% nepheline; it contains more than 25% alumina; processing is carried out by sintering;
- second grade - 40-60% nepheline, the amount of alumina is slightly lower - 22-25%; enrichment is required during processing;
- third grade - nepheline minerals, which do not represent any industrial value.
World mining of aluminum ores
For the first time, aluminum ore was mined in the first half of the 19th century in the southeast of France, near the town of Box. From here the name of bauxites resembles. At first, this industry developed at a slow pace. But when mankind appreciated which aluminum ore is useful for production, the scope of aluminum expanded significantly. Many countries began searching for deposits in their territories. Thus, the global mining of aluminum ores began to gradually increase. Confirmation of this fact are the numbers. So, if in 1913 the global volume of ore mined was 540 thousand tons, then in 2014 it was more than 180 million tons.
The number of countries mining aluminum ore also gradually increased. Today there are about 30 of them. But over the past 100 years, the leading countries and regions have been constantly changing. So, at the beginning of the 20th century, North America and Western Europe were the world leaders in the extraction of aluminum ore and its production. These two regions accounted for about 98% of global production. After several decades, the countries of Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Soviet Union became leaders in terms of the quantitative indicators of the aluminum industry. And already in the 1950s and 1960s, Latin America became the leader in terms of production. And in the 1980-1990s. there was a rapid breakthrough in the aluminum industry in Australia and Africa. In the current global trend, the leading aluminum mining countries are Australia, Brazil, China, Guinea, Jamaica, India, Russia, Suriname, Venezuela and Greece.
Ore deposits in Russia
In terms of aluminum ore production, Russia ranks seventh in the world ranking. Although aluminum ore deposits in Russia provide the country with large quantities of metal, it is not enough to fully provide industry. Therefore, the state is forced to buy bauxite in other countries.
In total, 50 ore deposits are located in Russia. This number includes both places where the mineral is mined and deposits that have not yet been developed.
Most of the ore reserves are located in the European part of the country. Here they are located in the Sverdlovsk, Arkhangelsk, Belgorod region, in the Komi Republic. All these regions contain 70% of all the country's proven ore reserves.
Aluminum ores in Russia are still mined in old bauxite deposits. These areas include the Radynskoye field in the Leningrad Region. Also, due to a shortage of raw materials, Russia uses other aluminum ores, the deposits of which are characterized by the worst quality of mineral deposits. But they are still suitable for industrial purposes. Thus, in Russia, nepheline ores are mined in large quantities, which also allow the production of aluminum.