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Aluminium
June 2021
Aluminium Smelting
Aluminium is one of the most abundant metallic elements on Earth but is rarely found in its elemental form. Prior to 1886, the cost of producing aluminium metal was greater than that of gold and platinum, making it highly valuable. However, since 1886 when an American, Charles Hall and a Frenchman, Paul Heroult simultaneously discovered you could dissolve alumina in cryolite, apply a bit of electricity, and Bob’s your uncle— there's aluminium. The Hall-Heroult process has seen the cost, and therefore value of, aluminium fall off a comparative cliff. This process, combined with cheaper electric power transitioned aluminium from a precious metal to a comparatively inexpensive commodity.
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