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Inventories (Tables) | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2012
Schedule Of Inventory Components | E. Inventories
|  | June 30, 2012 |  |  | December 31, 2011 |
Finished goods |  | $ | 558 |  |  | $ | 537 |
Work-in-process |  |  | 987 |  |  |  | 911 |
Bauxite and alumina |  |  | 673 |  |  |  | 656 |
Purchased raw materials |  |  | 565 |  |  |  | 532 |
Operating supplies |  |  | 268 |  |  |  | 263 |
|  | $ | 3,051 |  |  | $ | 2,899 |

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- Definition Disclosure of the carrying value of each significant component of inventory for an entity, who does not report such information on the face of their balance sheet. + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | aa_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration