This paper is the result of geological survey engineering.

Objective As the most consumed non-ferrous metal in the world, aluminum is widely used in the industrial fields and daily life. In recent years, developed economies and resource-rich countries have placed great emphasis on the aluminum industry, introducing a series of policies to promote industrial chain expansion, green transformation, and supply chain resilience. Research on the characteristics of the global aluminum resource industrial chain and its market development trends can provide valuable insights for exploration investment and the sustainable development of the global aluminum industry.

Methods This study systematically reviews the global aluminum resource industrial chain, including its fundamental characteristics, development and utilization policies, distribution and reserves, major mineralization types, and typical metallogenic belts. Furthermore, this study also summarizes the mining market trends of global aluminum resources, such as supply–demand and trade patterns, mining exploration and development, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and pricing mechanisms together with price trends. On this basis, recommendations are proposed for promoting the high-quality development of the global aluminum resource market.

Results The global aluminum industry has established a mature industrial chain. Against the backdrop of the energy transition, both developed economies and major resource-rich countries attach great importance to aluminum resource security. Global aluminum resources are unevenly distributed, posing a high resource concentration risk. Over recent decades, the supply, demand, and international trade of aluminum resources have grown steadily, resulting in an oversupplied market. Nevertheless, imports and exports remain highly concentrated in a few countries, indicating a significant spatial mismatch in the industrial chain. The global aluminum mining market remains relatively weak, characterized by limited exploration and development projects and low M&A activity. Pricing mechanisms vary considerably across different aluminum resources, leading to lagged price transmission and profit margins that continue to shift toward the resource side.

Conclusions Overall, issues such as the uneven distribution of global aluminum resources, structural supply–demand mismatches, and imbalances in the mining market have long constrained the security and stable development of the industrial and supply chains. To enhance the resilience of global resource supply, optimize cross-regional production capacity distribution, promote the green transformation of the aluminum industry, and improve market transparency, it is recommended to cultivate new growth poles for resource reserves, foster upstream–downstream collaboration along the industrial chain, strengthen technological innovation, and refine pricing mechanisms.