KoBold Metals, a metals exploration startup supported by Bill Gates and other notable investors, is leveraging AI technology to uncover valuable metal deposits crucial for renewable energy technologies like solar panels and electric vehicle batteries. By utilizing satellite imagery and drilling data, KoBold’s AI algorithms map the Earth’s crust to identify deposits of metals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
In a significant development, KoBold announced the discovery of an extensive copper deposit in Zambia known as the Mingomba deposit. Described as one of the world’s largest high-grade copper mines, this finding underscores the company’s mission to unearth essential mineral resources required for the global energy transition.
Josh Goldman, president of KoBold Metals, expressed the company’s satisfaction with the discovery, emphasizing that it aligns with their core objective of identifying and developing mineral resources vital for the energy transition. KoBold is actively pursuing over 60 exploration projects across four continents, with an annual investment of over $60 million in exploration activities.
Backed by prominent investors such as Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy, Andreessen Horowitz, and mining giant BHP, KoBold Metals has garnered support from influential figures in the tech and finance sectors. Notably, Jeff Bezos and Ray Dalio are among the investors in Breakthrough Energy, highlighting the collective commitment to advancing sustainable energy solutions.
KoBold Metals is determined to advance its project in Zambia, with plans for copper production to commence within the next decade. Josh Goldman, the company’s president, likened the size of the copper deposit in Zambia to that of the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the world’s largest copper resources. The Kamoa-Kakula mine produced nearly 400,000 tons of copper in 2023.
Goldman emphasized that the significance of the Mingomba deposit extends beyond its individual scale, highlighting the potential for discovering similar deposits in the future. He underscored Zambia’s favorable operating environment for such discoveries, indicating that there are more resources of comparable scale and quality yet to be unearthed.
Despite high demand for these metals, their scarcity poses a challenge. The International Energy Agency has noted that current investments in deposit discovery are insufficient to meet the demands of the energy sector transformation.
Looking ahead, KoBold Metals intends to pursue a public listing within the next three to four years to secure funding for its operations. Goldman emphasized the company’s commitment to achieving success in exploration consistently, aiming to enhance overall exploration success rates and reduce the capital intensity of discovery. He expressed confidence in the potential for further discoveries in Zambia, affirming the company’s dedication to unlocking additional mineral resources in the region.