Bauxite

• Bauxite is an important ore used for making aluminium, and it is an oxide of aluminium.
• Bauxite deposits are mainly associated with laterites and occur as capping on hills and plateaus, except in coastal areas of Gujarat and Goa.
• Production of aluminum from bauxite involves two segments: obtaining alumina from bauxite ore and reducing alumina into aluminum.
• Plants for obtaining alumina from bauxite ore are located near bauxite mines, while plants for reducing alumina into aluminum are located near cheap sources of electricity.
• It takes 6 tons of bauxite to produce 1 ton of aluminum (which produces 2 tons of alumina).
• In the process of producing aluminum, aluminium ore is treated with concentrated sodium hydroxide to form soluble sodium aluminate, which is filtered off.
• The filtrate, when heated with water, gives aluminium hydroxide, which gives alumina on strong heating.
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Bauxite Distribution (Mining Centres) in India

• Orissa:
  • Orissa is the largest producer of bauxite in India, accounting for 50% of the country’s total production.
  • The main bauxite belt is located in Kalahandi, Koraput, and Baragarh districts.
  • This belt is 300 km long, 40 to 100 km wide, and 950 to 1300 meters thick, making it the largest bauxite-bearing region in India.
  • The main bauxite deposits are found in Kalahandi, Koraput, Sundargarh, Bolangir, and Sambalpur districts.
  • Two large high-grade bauxite deposits are located in Orissa: Panchpatmali in Koraput district and Gandhamardan in Baragarh district.
• Gujarat:
  • Gujarat is the second-largest producer of bauxite in India, producing over 15 percent of the total bauxite production of the country.
  • The most important bauxite deposits in Gujarat occur in a belt between the Gulf of Kachchh and the Arabian Sea, through Bhavnagar, Junagadh, and Amreli districts.
• Jharkhand:
  • It has estimated reserves of all grades of recoverable bauxite at 63.5 million tonnes, found in extensive areas of Ranchi, Lohardaga, Palamu, and Gumla districts. 
  • Some bauxite is also found in Dumka and Munger districts.
• Other areas of bauxite production:
  • Maharashtra has the largest bauxite deposits in the Kolhapur district capping the plateau basalts.
  • Chhattisgarh has rich deposits of bauxite in the Maikala range in Bilaspur, Durg districts, and the Amarkantak plateau regions of Surguja, Raigarh, and Bilaspur.
  • Tamil Nadu contributes slightly more than 2 percent of India’s bauxite, with the main producing districts being Nilgiri and Salem.
  • Madhya Pradesh’s main bauxite producing areas are the Amarkantak plateau area, the Maikala range in Shahdol, Mandla, and Balaghat districts, and the Kotni area of Jabalpur district.
  • Other states with bauxite deposits include Andhra Pradesh (Vishakhapatnam, East Godavari, and West Godavari), Kerala (Kannur, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram), Rajasthan (Kota), Uttar Pradesh (Banda, Lalitpur, and Varanasi), Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu, Poonch, Udhampur), and Goa.

Export of Bauxite

• As much as 80 percent of the bauxite is used for producing aluminium.
• India’s exports of bauxite have been reduced considerably due to increasing demand in the home market. Still, India manages to export small quantities of bauxite. The main buyers of Indian bauxite are Italy (60%), U.K. (25%), Germany (9%), and Japan (4%).

Aluminium Plants in India

• Hindalco’s largest aluminium plant is located in Renukoot, Uttar Pradesh.
• Hirakud plant is the second aluminium smelter in India, located in Orissa.
• Alupuram smelter of Hindalco is located in Ernakulam district, Kerala and the extrusion unit is still operational.
• Angul plant of National Aluminium Company Ltd. (Nalco) is located in Orissa.
• Korba plant of Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (Balco) located in Chhattisgarh is set to be the largest aluminium plant in the world with a capacity of 1 million tpa.
• Mettur plant of the Madras Aluminium Company Ltd (Malco) is located in the Mettur Dam complex in Tamil Nadu.

• 

L.4 : Bauxite Distribution in India

Bauxite

• Bauxite is an important ore used for making aluminium, and it is an oxide of aluminium.
• Bauxite deposits are mainly associated with laterites and occur as capping on hills and plateaus, except in coastal areas of Gujarat and Goa.
• Production of aluminum from bauxite involves two segments: obtaining alumina from bauxite ore and reducing alumina into aluminum.
• Plants for obtaining alumina from bauxite ore are located near bauxite mines, while plants for reducing alumina into aluminum are located near cheap sources of electricity.
• It takes 6 tons of bauxite to produce 1 ton of aluminum (which produces 2 tons of alumina).
• In the process of producing aluminum, aluminium ore is treated with concentrated sodium hydroxide to form soluble sodium aluminate, which is filtered off.
• The filtrate, when heated with water, gives aluminium hydroxide, which gives alumina on strong heating.
• 

Bauxite Distribution (Mining Centres) in India

• Orissa:
  • Orissa is the largest producer of bauxite in India, accounting for 50% of the country’s total production.
  • The main bauxite belt is located in Kalahandi, Koraput, and Baragarh districts.
  • This belt is 300 km long, 40 to 100 km wide, and 950 to 1300 meters thick, making it the largest bauxite-bearing region in India.
  • The main bauxite deposits are found in Kalahandi, Koraput, Sundargarh, Bolangir, and Sambalpur districts.
  • Two large high-grade bauxite deposits are located in Orissa: Panchpatmali in Koraput district and Gandhamardan in Baragarh district.
• Gujarat:
  • Gujarat is the second-largest producer of bauxite in India, producing over 15 percent of the total bauxite production of the country.
  • The most important bauxite deposits in Gujarat occur in a belt between the Gulf of Kachchh and the Arabian Sea, through Bhavnagar, Junagadh, and Amreli districts.
• Jharkhand:
  • It has estimated reserves of all grades of recoverable bauxite at 63.5 million tonnes, found in extensive areas of Ranchi, Lohardaga, Palamu, and Gumla districts. 
  • Some bauxite is also found in Dumka and Munger districts.
• Other areas of bauxite production:
  • Maharashtra has the largest bauxite deposits in the Kolhapur district capping the plateau basalts.
  • Chhattisgarh has rich deposits of bauxite in the Maikala range in Bilaspur, Durg districts, and the Amarkantak plateau regions of Surguja, Raigarh, and Bilaspur.
  • Tamil Nadu contributes slightly more than 2 percent of India’s bauxite, with the main producing districts being Nilgiri and Salem.
  • Madhya Pradesh’s main bauxite producing areas are the Amarkantak plateau area, the Maikala range in Shahdol, Mandla, and Balaghat districts, and the Kotni area of Jabalpur district.
  • Other states with bauxite deposits include Andhra Pradesh (Vishakhapatnam, East Godavari, and West Godavari), Kerala (Kannur, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram), Rajasthan (Kota), Uttar Pradesh (Banda, Lalitpur, and Varanasi), Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu, Poonch, Udhampur), and Goa.

Export of Bauxite

• As much as 80 percent of the bauxite is used for producing aluminium.
• India’s exports of bauxite have been reduced considerably due to increasing demand in the home market. Still, India manages to export small quantities of bauxite. The main buyers of Indian bauxite are Italy (60%), U.K. (25%), Germany (9%), and Japan (4%).

Aluminium Plants in India

• Hindalco’s largest aluminium plant is located in Renukoot, Uttar Pradesh.
• Hirakud plant is the second aluminium smelter in India, located in Orissa.
• Alupuram smelter of Hindalco is located in Ernakulam district, Kerala and the extrusion unit is still operational.
• Angul plant of National Aluminium Company Ltd. (Nalco) is located in Orissa.
• Korba plant of Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (Balco) located in Chhattisgarh is set to be the largest aluminium plant in the world with a capacity of 1 million tpa.
• Mettur plant of the Madras Aluminium Company Ltd (Malco) is located in the Mettur Dam complex in Tamil Nadu.