| Minerals containing aluminium are very difficult to | | | | Smelters situated near the major power producers in |
| decompose. In 1825, a Danish scientist H.C.Oersted | | | | the country.This abundance of aluminium supply has |
| discovered that metallic potassium could be used to | | | | had the effect of producing a readily available |
| chemically reduce aluminium from one of its | | | | stockpile of scrap aluminium, where it is not difficult |
| compounds. The cost of aluminium in the very early | | | | for the hobby foundry worker to easily break the |
| days was around 250.00 English pounds per kilo to | | | | metal down to manageable sizes, which can then be |
| produce, much more than gold.Even Napoleon was | | | | melted in small hobby gas or electric furnaces.Crude |
| reported to have been privileged to use Aluminium | | | | pig iron is purified or converted to steel by blowing |
| knives and forks when eating. French nobility had to | | | | oxygen through it, Which burns out the impurities, |
| be content with silver or gold tableware?Metallurgists, | | | | this is not possible with aluminium as the metal would |
| Hall (America) & Heroult, (France) discovered the | | | | simply burn away, and leave you with useless |
| process for extracting aluminium from the ore of | | | | impurities.A chemical process is first used to purify |
| bauxite in the year of 1886, but the metal remained | | | | the bauxite, then the pure aluminium oxide is |
| an expensive commodity until the beginning of the | | | | decomposed by electrolysis. Aluminium oxide has a |
| 1900s.The first & second world wars, saw a huge | | | | very high melting point, it is mixed with another |
| demand for this strong, light & versatile metal, | | | | aluminium mineral called cryolite, to form an |
| particularly in the manufacture of aircraft. Modern | | | | electrolyte, which will melt at a low temperature.Next |
| technology has pushed the annual production of Al | | | | time you are breaking down a piece of scrap |
| second only to iron in world production terms.The ore | | | | aluminium to place into your crucible to melt, spare a |
| of aluminium is called bauxite, it contains aluminium | | | | thought for the journey it has travelled before you |
| oxide Al203. Bauxite ore itself cannot be reduced to | | | | acquired it!Today's technology enables the semi skilled |
| metal by heating it with coke as with cast iron, for | | | | home hobby foundry worker to produce low cost |
| the simple reason that Al atoms are too firmly | | | | Aluminium castings for all kinds of purposes, but there |
| combined with oxygen atoms to be detached by | | | | are things that you must learn about, and equipment |
| carbon.An electrolytic process is used to decompose | | | | you must acquire or build before the metal casting |
| the bauxite and release the Aluminium, which | | | | journey can begin. To begin to explore and |
| consumes about 91 mega joules of electricity to | | | | understand what this intriguing metal craft is all about, |
| produce I. Kg of Al metal, so large amounts of cheap | | | | you are invited to visit our hobby foundry web |
| electrical power must be available to the | | | | site.The following web site provides a rich resource |
| smelters.Most of the world's aluminium was produced | | | | of hobby foundry information for the serious hobby |
| in the USA, Canada, & Norway. However, Australia | | | | metal worker. This article may be reproduced as long |
| also has vast deposits of bauxite, and has large | | | | as the URL link remains. |