Here’s some food for thought… Global consumption of mineral resources in the last 60 years exceeds the total consumption of all previous human history. The population of the earth by 2050 will be 9.5 billion, people to support this population we will need nine planets of natural resources.
The ever-increasing innovative applications of aluminium in automotive, architecture and now packaging are driving demand for this unique metal. Extrapolated demand by year 2030 will be 160 million tons. Bauxite reserves are estimated at 40 to 75 billion tons, which at 160 million tons primary aluminium production will last between 62 and 117 years.
Sustained continued use of aluminium is fundamentally dependent on recycling. Today the UK recycles 800,000 tons of aluminium annually which will increase to 1,600,000 tons by 2030. Secondary aluminium production through recycling from 100% scrap resource provides the lowest embedded carbon materials solution matching by metal volume if not bettering steel.
