Eli5 why is aluminium not used as a material until relatively recently whilst others metals like gold, iron, bronze, tin are found throughout human history?

Question

Eli5 why is aluminium not used as a material until relatively recently whilst others metals like gold, iron, bronze, tin are found throughout human history?

In: 7474

Answer 1

It’s hard to make aluminum, it’s not found in metal form like copper and gold. It also can’t be smelted into metal with coal like iron or tin.

Until electricity became widely available and cheap there was no industrial production method, just lab-scale methods. Even the lab methods required metal sodium or potassium which in turn also needed electricity to make.