Aluminium: Scarcer/rarer than Silver or Gold

silverstar1 said:
Thanks for the info overdraft ,this is kind of interesting, you must be a chemist or something.
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Not at all silver just been a follower and sort of picks things up from people with far smarter minds than mine along the way and given a few things a go and so far still alive :D . Wondering if I should ask Gp to delete that reference to the carbon rods they really are dangerous temperamental beasts to heat this way. Ehh at your discretion GP .
 
I'm sitting here now reading this thread on a HUGE HUGE stock pile of Bauxite and we are about to mine more. Why? Because there's gold and copper underneath the Bauxite.
But I am willing to sell some to anyone interested in collecting Bauxite nuggets.
 
Dusty said:
I'm sitting here now reading this thread on a HUGE HUGE stock pile of Bauxite and we are about to mine more. Why? Because there's gold and copper underneath the Bauxite.
But I am willing to sell some to anyone interested in collecting Bauxite nuggets.
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Hahahahaha Dusty lets do a business flogging bauxite rocks on ebay . Very entrepreneurial of you . Thats half of Aussies land mass sold after that well do the sand eh. :D Classic
 
I remember reading (but can't find the link again) about Aluminium Ores to run out by year 2045. Leaving us to rely solely on recycling (which there is no doubt plenty of).
I am curious to know (which I will work out later) how much aluminium is destroyed vs how much is assumed left in un touched reserves and above ground? Would be interesting to know a rough estimate of when the world is most likely to run out of Aluminium (no doubt after a few more Great Depressions yet).

Transparent Aluminium is a new state of matter
Oxford scientists have created a transparent form of aluminium by bombarding the metal with the world's most powerful soft X-ray laser. 'Transparent aluminium' previously only existed in science fiction, featuring in the movie Star Trek IV, but the real material is an exotic new state of matter with implications for planetary science and nuclear fusion.
http://www.physorg.com/news167925273.html
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Overdraft3 your first post in this thread was highly informative. That sort of logical and factually supported post (especially from a relevant expert like yourself) is what I really enjoy on Silverstackers and any other forum for that matter. Reading through lots of useless threads to extract nuggets of useful information like that is what makes forums worthwhile. Well done and keep up the good work.
 
Been stacking crushed aluminium for years. Heaps of chaff bags full of the stuff in the shed. The only problem is it comes
contaminated with a liquid contaminant which must first be removed. Being somewhat environmentally friendly I break this
liquid down by passing it through my body. A true martyr to the environmental cause. I like to do my bit so no thanks necessary. :D
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Napoleonic period where Aluminum was regarded as a precious metal like the OP says. It was for reasons that the OP mentioned - that pure and native Al was rare. They didn't know about Bauxite and Alumina containing oxidized Aluminum.

I haven't researched it, but I'd venture to say that naturally occurring aluminum is quite valuable to gem an mineral collectors. Natural silver is rare too, have you seen what little natural silver turds fetch?

As for me, back home, I recycled Al. It's only six times the price of steal though at 1/3 the weight, so sometimes it's more trouble than it's worth. I'd say the only Al I stack is in the form of easily machined Al like extruded round stock and square/rectangular bars, and billet sheets and plates.

On that note, I'm going to go make an extrusion.
 
Bauxite being the primary source of Aluminium, I found an estimated World Bauxite Reserve

Aluminium : Gold Reserve Ratio
27,000,000,000t : 47,000mt
= 27,000,000 : 47
= 574,468 : 1 (Aluminium : Gold) *

Aluminium : Gold Reserve Base Ratio
38,000,000,000t : 100,000t
= 38,000,000 : 100
= 380,000 : 1 (Aluminium : Gold) *

*This does not include Recyclable Reserves or Privately Held Aluminium (such as what the Royal family have in spoons).

Sources: World Gold Reserves and World Bauxite Reserves


Whoever owns resources owns the world

Resources of bauxites, the raw material for aluminium, are not widespread throughout the world. There are only seven bauxite-rich areas: Western and Central Africa (mostly, Guinea), South America (Brazil, Venezuela, Suriname), the Caribbean (Jamaica), Oceania and Southern Asia (Australia, India), China, the Mediterranean (Greece, Turkey) and the Urals (Russia). The main deposits of high-quality bauxites with high aluminium content (not less than 50%), are already divided by the main players. Other companies have to either buy alumina on the free-market and wholly depend on price movements or join forces with deposit owners.
http://www.aluminiumleader.com/en/serious/industry/
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Did you know?
  1. One Aluminium (Aluminum) Can to produce consumes the equavalant energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or provide enough power to a television for three hours. Bieng one of the most costly metals to work with.[/*]
  2. SCUBA divers cannot pass gas at depths of 33 feet or below. Oh, sorry, wrong forum...[/*]
  3. There is no limit to the number of times an aluminum can may be recycled. Making it one of the most recycling friendly metals known to mankind.[/*]
  4. Aluminium is such a reactive metal, you'd think it would rust badly and therefore be useless! However, because pure aluminium reacts very quickly with air or water it gets a thin, almost invisible layer of aluminium oxide on its surface, which then acts as a protective coating from any further rusting. It is Oxygen that gives it a protective layer.[/*]
  5. Aluminium and (Silicon) everyday household Window Glass have very similar Densities. Aluminium with 2700kg/m3 and Glass with 2600Kg/m3.[/*]
  6. You *can* get blood from a stone, but only if contains at least 17% (percent) bauxite.[/*]
  7. You can actually sharpen the blades on a pencil sharpener by wrapping your pencils in aluminum foil before inserting them.[/*]

Never hold your nose and cover your mouth when sneezing, as it can blow out your eyeballs.

Sources:
Ultimate list of weird and interesting lists on Wikipedia
http://acswebcontent.acs.org/landmarks/landmarks/al/facts.html
http://www.topfive.com/arcs/t5050302.shtml
http://texasrecyclers.net/9-amazing-aluminum-recycling-facts.html
http://www2b.abc.net.au/science/k2/stn/newposts/5246/topic5246766.shtm
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2004/ShayeStorm.shtml
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_density_of_glass
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_density_of_aluminium
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium
http://chemistry.about.com/od/elementfacts/a/aluminum.htm....
 
You can do it. Just try and distort thinking by only delivering evidence in favour of those metals being 'Rarer' (i.e. scarcer) than Gold and Silver. :D
Let the audience question their stack.
 
There is an alloy of aluminium. It's Al 7075 (Al Zn Cu alloy of some sort) commonly called aircraft grade aluminum. The strength is comparable to steel (tensile strength actually 50% higher than mild steel) and in surface to surface wear, the aluminum will wear the steel out faster. Why? - because as we've learned here, aluminum likes to oxidize quickly in oxygen rick environments (most places) and Al2O3 is one of the hardest compounds known - so no wonder, eh.

edit: yes there is a person named, Oxygen Rick.

Oxygen Rick fights Carbon Don in the fight against global warming.
 
I love the isotopes post. Give us the one for aluminium. I have a few chaff bags of cans. Tell me it has an
Isotope that's going to turn it all into gold or silver :D
 
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