Last week, after protracted negotiations and various plot twists, Canadian mining company Allied Gold sold a minority stake in its assets to China’s Zijin Gold International.

“With the completion of the strategic investment, Zijin Gold holds approximately 9.2 percent of the issued and outstanding common shares of the company,” Allied Gold announced in a statement.

This is the latest, most significant development in a saga that involves investment from the United Arab Emirates, nearby Ethiopian army bases supporting Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and a large stretch of Ethiopian land on the Sudanese border that could now be mined extensively for gold.

The agreement, which is worth just under $300m, grants Zijin, a private company with at least three Chinese state-owned corporations among its leading shareholders, partial ownership of a portfolio that includes mining sites in Mali, Cote d’Ivoire and the Kurmuk concession in western Ethiopia.