A rock mainly comprising minerals that are hydrous aluminum oxides. These minerals are gibbsite, boehmite, and diaspore. The major impurities in bauxite are clay minerals and iron oxides. Bauxite is a weathering product of aluminous rock that results from intense leaching in tropical and subtropical areas, a process called laterization. Bauxite deposits are generally found on plateaus in stable areas where they had sufficient geologic time to form and were protected from erosion.