Global bauxite reserves stand at 28.1bnt as of January 2015

Global bauxite reserves were estimated to be 28.1 billion tonnes (bnt) as of January 2015. The production rose on the back of buoyant demand for aluminium in the global market place. In 2014, production of bauxite was 263 million tonnes (mt), down by 3.7 per cent from same period previous year.

A recent research revealed that Guinea with the largest bauxite reserves of 7.4bnt contributes about 26 per cent of the global reserves, followed by Australia with 6.5bnt. Deposits at Weipa mines in Queensland and Gove in the Northern Territory, both in Australia, have been found to have grades between 49–53 per cent of alumina, and are amongst the world's highest grade deposits.

There is a host of planned projects on anvil. Investments are also being made in smelting and processing as aluminium makers across the world are increasingly focusing on vertical value chain integration to provide themselves a buffer against market volatility. These will expectedly drive production of bauxite over 2015-2020.

Mining companies which have announced their bauxite projects recently include Alcoa Inc., BHP Billiton Ltd, Aluminium Corporation of China Ltd, National Aluminium Company Ltd, Rio Tinto Plc, and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd.