According to Life Cycle Inventory data published by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), the production of primary aluminium ingot is a resourceintensive process: on a global average, the production of 1 metric ton of primary aluminium requires approximately 1.91 metric tons of alumina, while the refining of 1 metric ton of alumina requires the mining of approximately 2.69 metric tons of bauxite. In other words, the production of every 1 metric ton of recycled aluminium reduces bauxite mining by approximately 5.14 metric tons.

Extrapolating from SAI’s annual remelting volume of 40,000 metric tons, this is equivalent to a reduction of over 200,000 metric tons of bauxite mining per year, effectively mitigating the impact of mining activities on ecosystems and biodiversity.