Abstract: Aluminum is the most abundant metal element in the earth and is an important resource for the development of national economy. It occurs mainly in the form of bauxite, which is characterized by low aluminum-silicon ratio in China and therefore will produce a large quantity of tailings after beneficiation, leading to a series of problems such as environment pollution and resource waste. In addition, bauxite tailings are difficult to utilize due to their complex mineral composition as they contain diaspore, kaolinite, anatase and silicon dioxide. The mineral composition, crystal structure and thermodynamic behavior of bauxite tailing were characterized by XRD, SEM and TGA-DTA methods. Based on this, the comprehensive utilization and the application prospect of bauxite tailings are discussed, aiming at solving bauxite tailings-related environment pollution and resource waste problem so as to realize a cycle economy and resource cherishment.

Key words: Bauxite, Tailings, Comprehensive utilization