In search of aluminum

In Search of Aluminum: China’s Role in the Mekong Region 1 Executive Summary Bauxite, the source of aluminum Bauxite, the chief material used in the production of aluminum, is one of the economically most important minerals. [...] In the aluminum sector, the Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) is the largest aluminum company in China and is a financially powerful corporation globally in the mining sector. [...] In Search of Aluminum: China’s Role in the Mekong Region Executive Summary Environmental and social impacts of bauxite mining Bauxite does not come without side effects, and transboundary impacts are expected to be significant, including loss of fisheries and changes to the hydrology of the rivers and water quality, which will affect the livelihoods of indigenous people living in the mining area [...] Unfortunately, most of the bauxite resources found in the triangular region of southern Laos, the Central Highlands of Vietnam and Mondulkiri province in Cambodia lie in environmentally sensitive areas that are home to a large number of people, in some cases ethnic minority groups. [...] In Laos, the Bolaven plateau has the potential to become one of the largest bauxite deposits in the world, and China is expected to bring the technological know- how and resources to assist in the government’s national priority of expanding and improving the mining sector.