'bauxite-based' originates from English, specifically the compound of the noun 'bauxite' and the adjective 'based', where 'bauxite' refers to the ore named after the place 'Les Baux' and 'based' comes from the past-participial/adjectival use of 'base' meaning 'having a base'.

'bauxite' entered English from French 'bauxite' in the early 19th century, the name taken from the Provençal place name 'Les Baux' where the ore was first studied; the element 'based' is a modern English formation using the past participle/adjective 'based' (from verb 'to base', ultimately from Old French/Latin roots) to form compounds meaning 'having X as a base'.

Initially the parts referred simply to the ore ('bauxite') and the idea of 'having a base' ('based'); over time the compound came to be used adjectivally to mean 'made from or primarily relying on bauxite' in industrial and technical contexts.