Overview and Background
From smartphones to beverage cans to cars, consumers use products made of aluminum every day. Used to manufacture solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and transmission cables, this versatile metal has also become crucial for the green energy transition. A responsible transition to a green economy must attend to and protect against the human impacts of raw material extraction, including bauxite mining and processing.
In recent decades, the use of aluminum has expanded significantly, impacting the rights and well-being of countless families and communities. Companies mine and process bauxite to obtain alumina, which is then smelted to produce aluminum.1 Brazil was one of the top five bauxite-producing nations in 2024, according to the US Geological Survey.2 More than 80% of its aluminum ores come from the state of Pará.3
The Investigation
Between January and July 2025, Transparentem investigated the Brazilian bauxite and aluminium supply chain, interviewing 59 people who were members or leaders of 40 communities located near bauxite or alumina operations. Our investigation revealed significant concerns of loss of land and livelihood and environmental destruction caused by the companies, and a lack of proper consultation and/or remedy.
Transparentem traced the supply chains of the investigated sites and identified potential connections to 68 companies. Of the 68, seven are owners or co-owners of the investigated sites and one is the operator of a site. Just four of the owners or co-owners responded to Transparentem — Aloca, MRN, Rio Tinto, and South32 — pointing to their community outreach and progress on due diligence, but communities continue to describe feeling unheard. The other four owners and co-owners – Glencore, Mitsui, NAAC, and Norsk Hydro — declined to substantively engaged with our findings.
Transparentem contacted 60 buyers, including consumer facing brands and distributors or processors, with supply chain connections to these bauxite mining operations, but was concerned by how few of these buyers constructively engaged. Forty-four buyers did not respond to Transparentem’s efforts to reach them, which was disappointing and inconsistent with engagements in other sectors where companies have responded at much higher rates. These companies include major players in the automotive, aerospace, beverage, defense, and tech industries. See page 23 of our full report for details on buyers that did not respond to our findings and Appendix 4 on page 45 for written submissions from 10 responsive buyers.
Aluminum is critical to the green transition, enabling the renewable technologies and infrastructure required to decarbonize the global economy. But this transition intended to benefit humankind will continue to come with grave human and environmental costs unless companies and governments involved in mineral extraction make significant changes.
Companies must strengthen due diligence, improve transparency, and ensure meaningful community engagement and effective grievance mechanisms for community members and workers. Governments must enforce stronger environmental oversight, guarantee community rights, and ensure accountability. Investors, in turn, must use their leverage to push for higher standards across the supply chain. Efforts by all three stakeholder groups must translate into outcomes communities recognize as meaningful. Without these changes, the energy transition risks solving one crisis while worsening another. See our full recommendations on page 30 of the full report.
1Melissa Pistilli, “Top 10 Aluminum-producing Countries,” Investing News Network, February 13, 2025, accessed October 7, 2025, https://investingnews.com/aluminum-production-by-country/
2United States Department of Interior, “U.S. Geological Survey: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025,” March 2025, accessed October 7, 2025, https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2025/mcs2025.pdf
3“Brazil Is One of the Main Exporters of Bauxite and Aluminum,” Government of Brazil (website), August 12, 2022, accessed October 7, 2025, https://www.gov.br/en/government-of-brazil/latest-news/2022/brazil-is-one-of-the-main-exporters-of-bauxite-and-aluminum