Aluminum processing Ores | Britannica
Aluminum processing Aluminum processing Ores: Aluminum is the third most abundant element on Earth''s surface. Only oxygen and silicon are more common. Earth''s crust to a depth of 16 km (10 miles) contains 8 percent aluminum. Aluminum has a strong tendency to combine with other common elements and so rarely occurs in nature in the metallic form. Its compounds, however, are an .