THE ABSTRACT

In 2000 at 68 working alumina factories was made 50,306 mln. Tons of commodity alumina. The share of 8 states: Australia, India, China, Jamaica, USA, Brasilia, Russia and Venezuela is 73,1 % of total output alumina.

Practically all commodity alumina in the world, except for two factories in Russia - at Achinsk and Pickaliovo, is made from bauxite of various deposits and different mineral structure. Hidrargelit bauxite of Jamaica, Guinea,India and Surinam, and also diaspore bauxite of Greece fall into high-quality raw material; bauxite of Brasilia, Australia, Hungary and former Yugoslavia - into an average level.

On the average complete cost price of 1 ton alumina manufacture makes 222,4 $. At the mentioned regions of the world the specific investments on 1 t alumina at factories construction change from 700 up to 930 $ /ton Al2O3.

The individual capacity of alumina factories essentially grows and makes from 1 up to 2,5 mln. tons per year.

The analysis of global alumina manufacture shows, that the rates of development of capacities of alumina factories lag behind rates of development of manufacture of primary aluminium. The lack of capacities became one of the powerful factors of growth of the alumina price and main reason of strengthening of raw deficiency at aluminium smelters.

Gradual reduction of volumes of high-quality bauxite production, the high operational expenses and power consumption of used ways of processing of raw material, in a combination to their ecologically adverse influence, are the basis for involving in manufacture low quality aluminium raw material.

Thus, the development of technologies of processing low quality aluminium raw material can become one of the basic directions in alumina manufacture in the twenty first century.