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Making one tonne of aluminium requires about two tonnes of alumina. The production of two tonnes of alumina creates two to four tonnes of red mud or bauxite residue, which is presently regarded as waste from the Bayer process - but it is potentially a valuable resource. The production of 200,000,000 tonnes of red mud every year has a serious effect on the environment. For now, technology enables us to store the residue harmlessly, but this does not remove the problem.

UC Rusal has launched its red mud pilot plant at its Urals aluminium smelter (UAZ) in Russia. It will test the viability of producing scandium concentrate from the alumina refining waste product.

We show that deep-sea mud contains high concentrations of rare-earth elements and yttrium at numerous sites throughout the eastern South and central North Pacific. We estimate that an area of just one square kilometre, surrounding one of the sampling sites, could provide one-fifth of the current annual world consumption of these elements.

Almost 25m tonnes of the liquid has already been deposited on the land bank adjacent since the plant’s opening, leading to concern from farmers and other locals.