Russian Bauxite Resources: Current Assessment

The bauxite resource base for the aluminum industry of independent Russia is examined generally in terms of deposit geology and mineralogy, feasibility of processing based on conventional methods, world aluminum markets, and the general economic environment within Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Plans to develop new mines and to expand existing mine production are examined critically in light of aluminum content and impurities in ores, physical conditions at deposits, and competing opportunities for potential outside investors. Important non-bauxite ore sources also are investigated to the extent they represent alternative sources of aluminum supply. Russia and the former USSR traditionally have had to rely either on supplemental bauxite imports or upon the development of its non-bauxite ore deposits. The future depletion of a Urals bauxite ore base in Russia is making it necessary for industry planners to assess the feasibility of developing the North Onega and Middle Timan monohydrate bauxite deposits and expanding imports from Guinea and elsewhere.