GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
The chief bauxite deposits of Europe are in the provinces of Var and Herault, in southern France, though other deposits are known in Bouches du Rhone and several other southern provinces. In central Italy bauxite has been mined for some years. In Germany low-grade bauxite has been mined in the Vogelsberg Mountains, Hesse, near Königswinter, in the lower Rhine country, and is known in Hanover. In the former Empire of Austria-Hungary there are extensive bauxite deposits in the Bihar Mountains and in the provinces of Istria, Croatia, and Dalmatia. Bauxite is also known in northwestern Russia, about 200 miles southeast of Petrograd. Bauxite has been mined for a number of years from beds in northwestern Ireland.
In the United States, bauxite has been mined for years in central Arkansas, northwestern Georgia, northeastern Alabama, and southeastern Tennessee, and more recently from the central Georgia field, which is being extended into west-central Georgia.
In South America, extensive deposits of good bauxite have been found in British and Dutch Guiana, and it is reported that there are evidences of bauxite in eastern Venezuela, western French Guiana, and northeastern Brazil.
In Africa, bauxite of good quality is reported to have been developed near the coast of French Guinea and to have been found in a number of inland localities in that colony. Vague rumors are current of large areas of bauxitic laterite[146] at many places in equatorial Africa.
[146] Laterite is the general name for rock of any kind that is in a thoroughly softened and decomposed state, due to alteration or weathering at the surface.
In the literature of the geology of India there are many references to bauxitic laterites, and it is reported that recently some of the Deccan bauxite deposits are being exploited.
In southwestern and eastern Australia some of the laterites are reported to be bauxitic, though so far as known no bauxite has been developed.
There is a persistent rumor, without confirmation, that bauxite has been discovered recently in China. As to this deposit no information is available.
The table below shows the world’s production of bauxite for a number of years. Although the figures give an idea of the relative importance of the deposits with respect to consuming centers, it is not believed that they represent relative importance with regard to the future. It seems unavoidable to conclude that the tropical countries hold immense reserves of bauxite and that some day the aluminum industry will be nearer the tropics than it is at present.
Table 63.—World’s Output of Bauxite, 1910-1916
(Output in tons)
| Country | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 148,932 | 155,618 | 159,865 | 210,241 | 219,318 | 297,041 | 425,100 |
| France | 192,913 | 250,818 | 254,851 | 304,407 | ([147]) | ([147]) | ([147]) |
| United Kingdom (Ireland) | 3,792 | 6,007 | 5,790 | 6,055 | 8,286 | 11,723 | 10,329 |
| Italy | 4,524 | 5,600 | 6,596 | 6,843 | 3,844 | 6,504 | 8,746 |
| India | 66 | 12 | 950 | 1,184 | 514 | 400 | 750 |
| Total | 350,277 | 418,055 | 428,052 | 528,730 |
[147] No statistics available.
The production of bauxite in the United States in 1917 was 568,690 long tons.