In 1888, Karl Josef Bayer developed and patented a process, which has become the cornerstone of the aluminum production industry worldwide. The Bayer process, as it has become known, is used for refining bauxite to be smelting grade alumina (aluminum oxide), the precursor to aluminum. Typically, depending upon the quality of the ore, between 1.9 and 3.6 tons of bauxite is required to produce 1 ton of alumina with the remaining “waste” being called Red Mud. Due to the risk of environmental contamination, red mud is generally stored in massive, specially designed "red mud ponds" or tailings dams. Over 4 billion tons are estimated to be in global storage, with roughly 130 million tons produced annually.  Research is ongoing to use red mud in building materials, cement, or for extracting rare earth elements, though large-scale commercial use remains limited. RMPPC has a patent pending process to produce eco-friendly cementitious products from “red mud” commercially to Bauxcrete.