They may be rolled into plate, sheet, foil, bars, or rods. They may be drawn into wire which is stranded into cable for electrical transmission lines. Presses extrude the ingots into hundreds of different useful and decorative forms, or fabricating plants may make them into large structural shapes. A number of factors in the aluminium production cycle relate to the environment, and considerable resources are allocated to minimising the impact of mining, refining, and smelting on the surrounding environment. Mine rehabilitation is carried out, making every effort to return the area to at least its original condition.
Extreme care is taken with the handling and disposal of red mud from the refineries.
This is usually pumped into dams which are sealed with impervious material to prevent pollution of the surrounding countryside. Strict measures are also taken to minimise fluoride emissions from smelters and dusty or corrosive material from the refineries. The remainder is used by the abrasive, refractory, and chemical industries. Bauxite is also used in the production of high-alumina cement, as an absorbant or catalyst by the oil industry, in welding rod coatings and fluxes, and as a flux in making steel and ferroalloys. The aluminium industry initiated the development of technology for recycling aluminium containing material and setting up its own can collection centres.