| Minerals containing aluminium are very difficult to | | | | bauxite, and has large Smelters situated near the |
| decompose. In 1825, a Danish scientist | | | | major power producers in the country.This |
| H.C.Oersted discovered that metallic potassium | | | | abundance of aluminium supply has had the effect |
| could be used to chemically reduce aluminium | | | | of producing a readily available stockpile of scrap |
| from one of its compounds. The cost of | | | | aluminium, where it is not difficult for the hobby |
| aluminium in the very early days was around | | | | foundry worker to easily break the metal down |
| 250.00 English pounds per kilo to produce, much | | | | to manageable sizes, which can then be melted in |
| more than gold.Even Napoleon was reported to | | | | small hobby gas or electric furnaces.Crude pig iron |
| have been privileged to use Aluminium knives and | | | | is purified or converted to steel by blowing |
| forks when eating. French nobility had to be | | | | oxygen through it, Which burns out the impurities, |
| content with silver or gold tableware?Metallurgists, | | | | this is not possible with aluminium as the metal |
| Hall (America) & Heroult, (France) discovered the | | | | would simply burn away, and leave you with |
| process for extracting aluminium from the ore of | | | | useless impurities.A chemical process is first used |
| bauxite in the year of 1886, but the metal | | | | to purify the bauxite, then the pure aluminium |
| remained an expensive commodity until the | | | | oxide is decomposed by electrolysis. Aluminium |
| beginning of the 1900s.The first & second world | | | | oxide has a very high melting point, it is mixed |
| wars, saw a huge demand for this strong, light & | | | | with another aluminium mineral called cryolite, to |
| versatile metal, particularly in the manufacture of | | | | form an electrolyte, which will melt at a low |
| aircraft. Modern technology has pushed the annual | | | | temperature.Next time you are breaking down a |
| production of Al second only to iron in world | | | | piece of scrap aluminium to place into your |
| production terms.The ore of aluminium is called | | | | crucible to melt, spare a thought for the journey |
| bauxite, it contains aluminium oxide Al203. Bauxite | | | | it has travelled before you acquired it!Today's |
| ore itself cannot be reduced to metal by heating | | | | technology enables the semi skilled home hobby |
| it with coke as with cast iron, for the simple | | | | foundry worker to produce low cost Aluminium |
| reason that Al atoms are too firmly combined | | | | castings for all kinds of purposes, but there are |
| with oxygen atoms to be detached by carbon.An | | | | things that you must learn about, and equipment |
| electrolytic process is used to decompose the | | | | you must acquire or build before the metal |
| bauxite and release the Aluminium, which | | | | casting journey can begin. To begin to explore and |
| consumes about 91 mega joules of electricity to | | | | understand what this intriguing metal craft is all |
| produce I. Kg of Al metal, so large amounts of | | | | about, you are invited to visit our hobby foundry |
| cheap electrical power must be available to the | | | | web site.The following web site provides a rich |
| smelters.Most of the world's aluminium was | | | | resource of hobby foundry information for the |
| produced in the USA, Canada, & Norway. | | | | serious hobby metal worker. This article may be |
| However, Australia also has vast deposits of | | | | reproduced as long as the URL link remains. |