Kawu Musa Idris-Idah, 18th May 2026
This series provides brief insights into minerals underpinning the solar industry.
Aluminum is the second most abundant metallic element in the earth’s crust after silicon. In terms of global usage, only iron is used more widely than aluminum. In the solar industry, aluminum is used to manufacture solar panel frames, mounting structures, cables and inverter casings. It is less conductive and less expensive than copper, but twice as light and therefore preferred in large-scale electrical installations where copper usage would be expensive.
Aluminum can be extracted from several minerals: bauxite, cryolite, alunite, garnet, topaz and chrysoberyl. However, bauxite is the most common source.
Bauxite is made of silicon dioxide, iron oxides, titanium dioxide and hydrated aluminum oxides. Via the Bayer Process, aluminum is obtained from bauxite. In this process, bauxite is crushed and mixed with concentrated sodium hydroxide under temperatures ranging from 140°C to 240°C and pressures reaching 35 atm. Aluminum-containing compounds form sodium tetrahydroxoaluminate and the impurities (non-aluminum-containing compounds) like iron oxides form solids that resemble red mud. They are filtered out of the sodium tetrahydroxoaluminate solution via filtration. The remnant solution is cooled and seeded with aluminum hydroxide crystals, resulting in the precipitation of aluminum hydroxide. The precipitate is heated to high temperatures of about 1100 – 1200°C, forming aluminum oxide (alumina). Via electrolysis, aluminum is obtained from alumina.
As seen above, aluminum production is linked to production of alumina and bauxite. The tables below provide the highest-ranking producing countries of each, as per USGS. The only African country noted is these tables is Guinea. Guinea has the most bauxite reserves in the world, by far. The country also produces some quantity of alumina, albeit very small in comparison to the likes of China.
No African country features in the high ranking producers of the most valuable product in this value chain, aluminum.
Bauxite reserves
|
Country |
Quantity (thousand metric dry tons) |
|
Guinea |
7,400,000 |
|
Other countries* |
5,300,000 |
|
Australia |
3,700,000 |
|
Vietnam |
3,100,000 |
|
Indonesia |
2,900,000 |
|
Jamaica |
2,000,000 |
|
China |
710,000 |
|
Russia |
650,000 |
Alumina production (2025)
|
Country |
Quantity (thousand metric dry tons) |
|
China |
93,000 |
|
Australia |
17,000 |
|
Brazil |
11,000 |
|
India |
8,200 |
|
Russia |
2,900 |
|
UAE |
2,300 |
|
Ireland |
1,700 |
|
Kazakhstan |
1,500 |
|
Other countries* |
1,300 |
|
Guinea |
360 |
Aluminum production (2025)
|
Country |
Quantity (thousand metric tons) |
|
China |
45,000 |
|
Other countries* |
7,000 |
|
India |
4,200 |
|
Russia |
3,900 |
|
Canada |
3,300 |
|
UAE |
2,700 |
|
Bahrain |
1,600 |
|
Australia |
1,500 |