Bauxite and alumina: trends and prospects

During the past 25 years the bauxite and alumina industry has grown threefold creating major change in the industry structure and reducing the dominance of the majors. Australia has emerged as the leading producer with a major third party alumina market developed principally by Alcoa of Australia. Future growth while, less dramatic, is likely to be substantial requiring US$50 billion to fund new projects which will be concentrated in developing countries with large bauxite reserves and developed infrastructure.