Aluminium is refined from bauxite ore, with major reserves found in Guinea, Australia, Brazil, Jamaica and India. Aluminium is primarily used for building and construction as it is light, strong, able to conduct electricity and is resistant to corrosion. In order to produce alumina, sodium hydroxide is used to dissolve the bauxite ore at a high temperature. Sodium aluminium floride is then added to this liquid to smelt the alumina into aluminium.
The Jamaican Bauxite Environmental Organization (