Bauxite and alumina are like conjoined babies, but many mining companies now often separate the two, only mining or alumina production activities. Alumina prices have changed with LME aluminum prices, and industry demand driven by transportation and other applications continues to grow strongly, with structural changes continuing in the aluminum industry. The annual growth rate of global aluminum in 2004-2012 is 6%, and it is estimated to be 7.5% in 2009-2015. Experts predict that by 2020, the global demand for aluminum will exceed 70 million tons.
