Aluminium ore, commonly known as bauxite, is plentiful and occurs mainly in tropical and sub-tropical areas - Africa, West Indies, South America and Australia. There are also some deposits in Europe.

Bauxite is refined into aluminium oxide trihydrate (alumina) and then electrolytically reduced into metallic aluminium. Primary aluminium production facilities are located all over the world, often in countries like Canada where there are abundant supplies of inexpensive energy, such as hydro-electric power.

You can find more information about aluminum on the Periodic Table on the WWW at http://www.webelements.com/webelements/scholar/index.html - click on element #13, Al (Aluminum) to look up its history, uses, and geology.

In general aluminum's strength and other properties can be increased by alloying with magnesium, beryllium, titanium, nickel, copper, tungsten, molybdenum, or niobium