Aluminium’s combination of physical properties results in its use in a wide variety of products including light vehicles, railcars, and aircraft; wire is used for long-distance transmission of electricity; air conditioning, refrigeration, and heat-exchange systems; and building, construction, packing, and engineering products.

Aluminium is the second most used metal after steel and more aluminium is produced than all other non‐ferrous metals put together. There are several minerals available in the world from which aluminium can be obtained, but the most common raw material is bauxite. No bauxite is mined in New Zealand, but bauxite from Weipa is refined into Alumina at Queensland Alumina Refinery in Gladstone which is then transported to NZ and smelted into aluminium at New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) at Tiwai Point in Southland.

Around 90% of the aluminium produced at NZAS is exported and much of the aluminium used in building and construction in New Zealand is in the form of joinery imported from other countries, particularly China. The world’s leading primary aluminium producing countries include China, Russia, Australia, UAE. From January to December 2021, 1,888 metric tonnes of primary aluminium was produced in Australia and New Zealand.