RUSAL has agreed to develop bauxite mining and alumina refining projects in Ghana as the Russian aluminium producer seeks to secure more of its own raw material supply, Reuters reported.
The company reached an agreement with state-owned Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation (GIADEC) to establish two joint ventures in which Rusal will hold majority stakes.
The partners plan bauxite mining operations producing up to five million tons a year and an alumina refinery with capacity of 1.2 million tons annually.
The projects will draw on the Nyinahin deposit in southwest Ghana, where Rusal estimates resources at more than 100 million tons of bauxite.
The agreement comes as Rusal works to reduce its reliance on outside suppliers of alumina, the processed material used to make aluminium. The company lost roughly 40% of its alumina supplies from Ukraine and Australia in 2022.
Rusal, which has not been targeted by Western sanctions related to Russia’s war in Ukraine, already has substantial African operations, including bauxite mines and alumina assets in neighbouring Guinea.
It produced 6.86 million tons of alumina in 2025, equivalent to 4.7% of global production and enough to meet about 85% of its own requirements.
Ghana cancelled a $1.2bn lease agreement with local firm Rocksure International last year as it sought a foreign partner for Nyinahin.
GIADEC CEO Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah said the Rusal projects would support Ghana’s aim of processing more of its bauxite domestically while also bringing investment, jobs and improvements to rail and port infrastructure.