There are 3 10 bauxite mining areas in China, distributed in 19 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government. The bauxite reserves reach 2.273 billion tons, of which 705 million tons are A+B+C, accounting for 3 1% of the total reserves. Figure 3.9. 1 shows the growth of bauxite reserves and A+B+C reserves in China from 1960 to 1995.

According to the data in 1996, the world bauxite reserves are 23 billion tons, and the reserve base is 28 billion tons. Among them, Australia (7.9 billion tons), Guinea (5.9 billion tons), Brazil (2.9 billion tons) and Jamaica (2 billion tons) are rich in bauxite resources. The quantity and quality of bauxite in China are inferior to those in the above countries. For example, China's A+B+C reserve (industrial reserve) is far behind the reserve base of these countries.

China is still rich in bauxite resources. The four major metallogenic areas, namely North China Platform, Yangtze Platform, South China Fold System and Southeast Coast, all have good bauxite metallogenic conditions, especially the three metallogenic belts, Jinzhong-Jinbei, Western Henan-Jinnan and Northern Guizhou-Central Guizhou, which have good metallogenic conditions and huge resource prospects. The western Guangxi-eastern Yunnan, southern Sichuan-northern Guizhou metallogenic belts also have certain prospects. According to the analysis of existing geological conditions and ore-forming conditions, the total bauxite resources in China are expected to reach 5 billion tons.