BAUXITE

DEPOSITS

PREPARED BY:
Judie Anne O. Garcia
Santiago B. Agripa Jr.
BAUXI
TE
 Bauxite is a naturally occurring, heterogeneous material
composed primarily of one or more aluminum hydroxide
minerals, plus various mixtures of silica, iron oxide, titania,
aluminosilicate, and other impurities in minor or trace
amounts.
INTRODUCTION
 Continents, which possess much wider areas than limited marine
basins, accumulate most sediment, but retain scarce geological
records. 
 Bauxite, as the primary source of aluminum, represents a typical
accumulation of weathered continental crust and has been one of the
most important proxies for the reconstruction of paleoclimate. 
 MINERALOGY
The main alumina containing minerals that occur in bauxites are:
Gibbsite
Boehmite
Diaspore
Other gangue or impurity minerals typically found in bauxites include:
Clays, typically kaolinite
Quartz
Iron oxide and iron hydroxy-oxide (Hematite and Goethite)
Titanium dioxide in the form of anatase or rutile.
The mineralogy is very important as it dictates the refining conditions
that must be used and has a large bearing on the economics of
processing a particular bauxite.
SEM images of typical minerals in bauxite: (a) gibbsite as the major mineral; (b) kaolinite
as the primary subordinate mineral, (c) covelite, (d) galena, (e) pyrite, (f) zircon, (g)
calcium plagioclase, (h) orthoclase, and (i) albite as minor minerals
TYPES OF BAUXITES
Bauxite deposits are commonly referred to by a number of different
terminologies relating to either their mineralogy or geological formation.
Alternately they may be described by likening them to other well-known
deposits elsewhere around the globe.

According the to their mineralogy:

1. Trihydrate or gibbsitic bauxite: consisting chiefly of gibbsite
2. Mixed bauxite: typically consisting of significant proportions of
both gibbsite and boehmite.
3. Monohydrate bauxite: consisting mainly of boehmite or diaspore
According to their geological formation

1. Lateritic: formed in-situ from weathering of aluminous parent

rocks in tropical and temperature regions. Consisting mostly of
gibbsite or a mixed gibbsite and boehmite content.

2. Karst: partially transformed or transformed bauxite materials washed

and accumulated in eroded limestone cavities where further
transformation can occur. Commercially significant karst bauxites
occur in Europe, the Middle East, China and Jamaica.

3. Sedimentary: are primarily formed by the accumulation of lateritic

bauxite deposits during mechanical transportation of surficial flows.
 Figure 1. Distribution of the superlarge bauxite deposits in the world
(After Bogatyrev et al., 2009).
According to other well-known deposits:
1. Suriname type: a pseudonym for trihydrate or gibbsitic
bauxite

2. European type: composed mainly of boehmite

3. Jamaica type: applied to very fine grained high-iron

gibbsitic bauxite containing minor quantities of
boehmite.
BAUXITE FORMATION
Bauxite deposits are formed chiefly by weathering of aluminous rock;
some have been transported to their present locations, but most are
residual accumulations from which most other constituents of the parent
rock, other than alumina, have been leached.

Bauxite deposits occur in rocks ranging in age from Precambrian to

Holocene.

Gibbsitic bauxite: Most deposits of this type are in the tropics and a
few occur in the temperate belts, but the climate was probably
tropical or subtropical at the time these formed. Nearly all are of
Cenozoic age.
Boehmitic bauxite: Deposits of this type occur chiefly in southern
Europe, the USSR and Turkey. Most are associated with carbonate
rocks of Jurassic and Cretaceous age, but a few are of Paleozoic age.
Today most are north of the tropics, however they could have formed
under tropical conditions.

Mixed bauxites: Are associated with both the gibbsite and boehmite
types. However, they tend to be more abundant in deposits of
Paleozoic and Mesozoic ages than in younger rocks
BAUXITE CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION
Although bauxite comprises a mixture of minerals, the composition is normally
reported as the elemental analysis, expressed as metal oxides. This analysis is
usually determined by X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF), though
classical methods are also available.

The composition of bauxite samples from a range of deposits are tabulated below.
BAUXITE OCCURENCES
Based on a broad geological assessment the potential for
bauxite mineralization is quite common across the globe.
Typically deposits in the tropics and southern temperate zones
are lateritic deposits, while those in the northern temperate
zones and beyond are monohydrate deposits, often associated
with karst systems. World Bauxite – Key Countries Despite
wide potential, most of the world's known bauxite reserves
and resources are concentrated in only 12 countries.
TYPICAL ORE PICTURES FROM MAJOR
COUNTRIES

WEIPA BAUXITE

CHINESE
BAUXITE
TYPICAL ORE PICTURES FROM MAJOR
COUNTRIES

INDONESIA BAUXITE ORE

The lateritic bauxite profile

A “typical” profile is really a

misnomer as there are so many
variations. The example shown in
Figure 2 is a lateritic bauxite profile
exposed in the western coastal cliffs of
Cape York Peninsula, in northern
Australia. Elements of this “typical”
profile are seen in most lateritic
bauxite profiles in other parts of the
world.
 Sedimentary bauxites

Profile chart of sedimentary bauxite in Henan, China

 Karst bauxites

Schematic stratigraphic
section of the bauxitic
horizon in the Zagros
Mountain Belt 
Bauxite section on kaolinitic sandstone
EXISTING MINES

Birsok Bauxite Project, Cameroon, AFRICA

EXISTING MINES

Bauxite in East India: The Khondalite Mountains of Khondistan

EXISTING MINES

Bauxite deposits Brgy. Canliges, Paranas, Samar

CONCLUSIVE STATEMENT

Bauxite, an aluminum ore, is the world's main source of

aluminum. It is widely distributed around the world, particularly
in tropical areas. It is formed by weathering of aluminium rich
rocks (clays, laterites, etc.) and the major deposits are therefore
generally close to the surface. It consists mostly of the minerals
gibbsite, boehmite and diaspore. Bauxite takes many physical
forms including small red peas, red-yellow “soils”, and large,
pale, hard stones. The main criterion for identification of an ore
body as bauxite is that it should contain aluminium in the form of
aluminium hydroxides, the minimum content being about 30%.
SOURCES

 www.geologyforinvestors.com
 www.thebauxiteindex.com
 www.sciencedirect.com
 www.geology.com