Historical Availability of Metals

Before 1800s, only 10 were in use:

Cu, Sn, Fe, Pb, Au, Ag, Zn, Hg, Bi, Pt
They were either found uncombined
Or
Extracted by heating with Carbon

More metals in use today than 200 years ago.

Why? Abundance; need for metals with new
properties; ease of extraction
 Extracting Metals from Ores

Mineral: a pure crystalline compound found

in the Earths crust (aluminium oxide)

Ores: a compound or mixture from which it

is economic (or profitable) to extract desired
substances (ie. Metals)
Eg. Bauxite (aluminium oxide) is an ore but aluminium
silicates is not (not economic)
 Extracting Metals from Ores
5 tonnes bauxite mined produces one tonne Aluminium
Bauxite is crushed to obtain alumina mineral (Al2O3
aluminium oxide)

Bauxite ore, a source of Al, is

the most abundant element
found in the earth's crust
 Uses of Aluminium

kitchen utensils
cans & foil
aircraft & rockets
Window & door frames
60% less conductive than Copper but
used for high voltage transmission lines
Properties: light weight (low density); good tensile strength,
high resistance to corrosion
 Digging for Bauxite
Digging up the bauxite
The size of the scoop
 Bauxite Reserves:
1985 - 21 billion tons
1990 - 21.8 billion tons
1993 - 23 billion tons
2006 - 25 billion tons

Rate of use in 2006: 177 million tons per year

How long will reserves last? 141 years

 Extracting Metals from Ores
Strong electric current pass through the molten alumina
(mobile ions of Al3+ and O2-) separating it into
Aluminium metal & Oxygen gas

To keep it molten and to perform electrolysis, electricity

is a major cost

Most smelters have their own electrical power plant

 Energy Consumption
Electricity consumption by the aluminium
industry in the USA alone is equal to the
consumption of all of New York City

Alcoa Aluminum
smelter in Texas
requires 36 million
pounds of coal to fuel
operations
per day
Australia is the worlds leading producer of bauxite.
In 2010, it produced 71.5 million tons
Aluminium Industry

16,700 Employees
 50 Years of Industry in
Australia
5 Bauxite mines
7 Alumina refineries
6 Aluminium smelters
12 Extrusion mills (19 presses)
2 Rolled product plants
It a significant contributor the econonmy:

$5,055,402,000 in 2011
 Factors Affecting Price
Abundance & location of ores
Cost of extracting the metal from the ore
Cost of transportation (eg. to smelter)
World-wide demand

Metal Price/tonne
Al $ 2 150
Cu $ 3 250
Au $ 17 000 000
Zn $ 1 360
Pb $ 1 070
 Recycling
it can be recycled indefinitely 2/3 of the aluminum
ever produced since 1886 is still in use

This does not change the fact that between 1990 and
2000, 7.1 million tons of aluminum cans (only cans!)
were wasted enough to reproduce the worlds
commercial air fleet 25 times

At an average scrap value of $.58/lb, this represents

$8.236 billion in lost revenue just in cans!
 Energy Expenditure

Metal from natural ores from recycled material

(MJ) (MJ)
Aluminium 200 7
Copper 70 4
Mild steel 40 8
 Recycling Steps
1. collect used Al products from homes, etc.
2. transport to central processing plant
3. separate the cans
4. Re-smelt the metal into ingots and transport them to
product manufacturers

Australians currently recycle more than 2 billion aluminium

cans each year. But 900 million aluminium cans are thrown
away every year ($15 million dollars in the landfill)
 Benefits of Recycling
Less energy: requires 5% of the energy needed
No waste: 1 tonne recycled Al = 1 tonne new Al
Less rubish
Conserve Natural Resources: ores are non-renewable

Australians consumed more than 3

billion aluminium cans in 2002. Of
these, 47% were soft drink cans and
53% where alcoholic beverage cans.