Many people are surprised to learn
that bauxite is not a mineral. It is a rock composed mainly of
aluminum-bearing minerals. It forms when laterite soils are
severely leached of silica and other soluble materials in a wet
tropical or subtropical climate.
Bauxite is the primary ore of
aluminum. Almost all of the aluminum that has ever been produced
has been extracted from bauxite. The United States has a few
small bauxite deposits but at least *9% of the bauxite used in
the United States is imported. The United States is also a major
importer of aluminum metal.
