Aluminium — the metal for an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’
The govt must rectify the pricing anomalies of bauxite to boost local production
The primary source for aluminium is bauxite ore, which is processed to produce alumina that is smelted using an electrolysis process to produce pure aluminium metal.
Since most of bauxite is found on surfaces of earth, strip mining is possible and the top soil can be replaced for rehabilitation and land returned to its native ecosystem. Usually six-seven tonnes of bauxite produces one tonne of aluminium.
Aluminium is the second most-used metal in the world after iron. Starting with consumer electronics, household appliances, cooking utensils, doors and windows, food packaging, foils, cans, office work stations, automotive, transportation, electrical to industrial uses in the form of industrial appliances, aircraft, ships, trains, defence, communication equipment to spacecraft and so on.