Bauxite is the ore behind the entire aluminum chain. Processing it is the entry point to advanced parts.
Why this matters
Aluminum feeds casings, sheets, and advanced electronics. No bauxite line means no endgame production.
Step-by-step
- Find a bauxite node and check purity.
- Place a miner on the node.
- Run bauxite through a refinery for alumina solution.
- Refine alumina solution into aluminum scrap.
- Smelt scrap into aluminum ingots.
- Belt ingots to the next line.
- Scale the chain as demand grows.
Tips
- The chain has two refinery steps — scale both
- Watch water inputs
- Overclock the bauxite miner first
- Buffer ingots for construction
Practical notes
The bauxite chain has two refinery steps, and both have to scale together or the line stalls between them. Watch water inputs along the way, since a dry extractor stops everything. Overclock the bauxite miner first, because every downstream step inherits its output limit.
Buffer scrap between the refinery and the smelter so a brief hiccup does not idle the smelters. Aluminum feeds casings, sheets and advanced electronics, so the chain only gets longer from here. Build it with expansion room rather than wedging it between existing lines.
Both refinery steps have to scale together or the line stalls between them.
Buffer scrap so a brief hiccup upstream does not idle the smelters.
Common mistakes
- Under-building the refinery steps
- Forgetting water inputs
- Scaling only the smelter
- No buffer for construction surges