The raw material bauxite is processed into alumina, which is an intermediate for making aluminum.

Global demand for aluminum is already growing and may outpace the 4 percent annual growth, according to London-based Rio, Bloomberg reported.

The forecasts were made by Alf Barrios chief executive officer of the producer¡¯s aluminum unit.

¡°China¡¯s bauxite demand growth is forecast to be significant over the next 15 years, and it is something we are very keen to capture,¡± he said in the forecast published on its website.

According to him, all commodities, including aluminum will remain challenged in the short-term, but prices would pick up later this decade.

Barrios said: ¡°In the medium to longer term, aluminum is one of the fastest-growing metals.¡±

Rio Tinto has already done the groundwork by making sizable investments in Bauxite mines of Australia. Its Amrun development on Queensland¡¯s Cape York Peninsula was approved in 2015 and can produce 23 million metric tons from 2019 and its existing operation will be raising output by 10 million tons a year.

China has drastically increased the volume of Bauxite imports from 2.2 million tons to 50 million tons in the past decade after the quality and volume of domestic sources became inadequate.

It seems Australia will gain the most from the new demand as rival suppliers in Malaysia and Indonesia is haunted by curbs on raw material exports.

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