Aluminium

Aluminum, also called aluminium, is a soft, silvery post-transition metal that is easy to shape. It is lightweight, and a thin coating of aluminum oxide protects its surface from further attack by air. Although it is the most abundant metal in Earth's crust, it occurs mainly in compounds rather than as free metal. Its main ore is bauxite, which is refined into aluminum oxide, also called alumina. Industry then uses an electric current to extract the metal from alumina dissolved in molten salts. Aluminum alloys combine low weight with useful strength, making them valuable for aircraft and drink cans. Recycling aluminum by melting scrap uses far less energy than producing new metal from ore.