The white powder is dissolved in a giant steel vat filled with molten cryolite (a mineral that helps it melt at a lower temperature) [1, 6].
From red dirt to white powder, and from a lightning-bolt bath to a silver slab, the aluminum is now ready to be shaped into anything from a foil wrap to a jet engine. How Aluminium is made animation
The remaining clear liquid is cooled, causing white crystals to settle out [1, 6]. The white powder is dissolved in a giant
This is the most dramatic part of the animation. Alumina is very stable; you can’t just melt it with fire to get the metal out. You have to "shock" it [1, 6]. This is the most dramatic part of the animation
The crushed bauxite enters a high-pressure "pressure cooker" filled with hot caustic soda [1, 6].
The aluminum in the rock dissolves into the liquid, while the unwanted "red mud" (iron and silica) sinks to the bottom and is filtered out [1, 6].