Ghana has secured a major partnership with Russian aluminum giant Rusal to develop bauxite mining and alumina production at the Nyinahin deposit in the country’s southwest, in a deal announced during a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow.

The agreement, signed with Ghana’s state-owned Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation (GIADEC), will create two joint ventures in which Rusal will hold majority stakes. The projects comprise a bauxite mine with a capacity of up to 5 million metric tons per year and an alumina refinery able to process 1.2 million metric tons annually.

The Nyinahin deposit is estimated to hold more than 100 million metric tons of bauxite resources. For Rusal, the partnership helps secure raw material supplies after the company lost roughly 40% of its alumina sources from Ukraine and Australia in 2022.

Ghana, meanwhile, anticipates that the development will draw investment, generate thousands of jobs and boost domestic aluminum processing capacity.