mineralogical characteristics of the bauxite sources from which they originated. The dissimilarities in the characteristics of the red mud samples throughout their procedure can affect their utilization as a second source of important metals. The results show that the data available on all the samples of red muds are enriched with a critical metal, i.e., scandium. The sample from refinery B shows the maximum concentrations of scandium. Besides scandium, there are alumina and iron oxides, and many traces elements present in the red mud. As a result, the red mud still has a high value to resources even after the removal of alumina. The mineralogical stages and microstructures of the red mud indicate that the performance of extracting vital values of metals is highly reliant on the features of each alumina refinery. These results emphasize the need for site-specific characterization of red mud before the design of customized processing modalities. Disposal or generic treatment methods are not likely to extract the resource potential in the material in an optimum way. In general, the data gives a technical basis to assess the possibility of red mud as the secondary source of critical minerals. It also provides a theoretical framework on future research on designing and evaluating processing methods that will help recycle important minerals in this industrial by-product. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors acknowledge IIT (ISM) Dhanbad for research facilities and the respective alumina refineries for permitting sample collection. REFERENCES Al-Fakih, A., Mohamed Nor, Z., Inayath Basha, S., Nasiruzzaman Shaikh, M., Ahmad, S., Al-Osta, M. A., & Aziz, M. A. (2023). Characterization and Applications of Red Mud, an Aluminum Industry Waste Material, in the Construction and Building Industries, as well as Catalysis. In Chemical Record (Vol. 23, Issue 5). https://doi.org/10.1002/tcr.202300039 Archambo, M., & Kawatra, S. K. (2021a). Red Mud: Fundamentals and New Avenues for Utilization. Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 42(7), 427–450. https://doi.org/10.1080/08827508.2020.1781109 Archambo, M., & Kawatra, S. K. (2021b). Red Mud: Fundamentals and New Avenues for Utilization. Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 42(7), 427–450. https://doi.org/10.1080/08827508.2020.1781109 Hairi, S. N. M., Jameson, G. N. L., Rogers, J. J., & MacKenzie, K. J. D. (2015). Synthesis and properties of inorganic polymers (geopolymers) derived from Bayer process residue (red mud) and bauxite. Journal of Materials Science, 50(23), 7713–7724. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9338-9 Jaiswal, A., Pandit, B., & Singh, T. N. (2025). Comprehensive Review of Critical Mineral Extraction Technologies and Their Relevance to Secondary Resources in India. Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-025-01438-3 Kalantzakos, S. (2020). The Race for Critical Minerals in an Era of Geopolitical Realignments. International Spectator, 55(3), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/03932729.2020.1786926 Kursunoglu, S. (2025). A Review on the Recovery of Critical Metals from Mine and Mineral Processing Tailings: Recent Advances. Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy, 11(3), 2023–2050. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40831-025-01126-y 125
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