KoBold Metals, a US-based start-up backed by a coalition of billionaires, including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, has committed a sum of $150 million to developing the Mingomba copper-cobalt mine in Zambia.
As part of the investment deal, KoBold agreed to pay $115m to the owners of the Lubambe Copper Mine, in which private-equity firm EMR Capital owns an 80% stake, reported The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
In exchange, KoBold will receive a majority stake in the nearby Mingomba deposit, which was formerly known as the Lubambe Extension Project.
The US-based start-up uses artificial intelligence to discover the critical materials for the electric vehicle and renewable energy revolution. It will use its artificial intelligence tools to process drilling data and optimize exploration for copper and cobalt at Mingomba.
KoBold’s investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate and technology fund founded by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and backed by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Virgin’s Richard Branson.
The Mingomba copper-cobalt mine is said to be the world’s highest-grade undeveloped large deposit of the orange metal. It contains 247 million tonnes of ore with an average grade of 3.64% copper, according to KoBold.
The project is a collaboration between the Australian private equity firm EMR Capital and the state-backed miner ZCCM-IH in Zambia, and it has the potential to become “one of the world’s top-tier mines,” which is good news for Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema who has set an ambitious copper production target.
Speaking on the nation’s accomplishment, President Hichilema said, “Our message to the world is that Zambia is here, and is open for business. This investment today is not about KoBold, it’s not about ZCCM, it’s not about Zambia, it’s about all of these, and the rest of the world, as we grapple with climate change.”
KoBold’s investment in Mingomba, which would give it a controlling share, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.
