Billionaire backed mining start up, KoBold Metals, has successfully raised US$537M in its latest funding round, positioning itself as a trailblazer in the quest for critical minerals essential for the energy transition. The billionaires in question include some of the biggest household names, including Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.
The Berkeley based company uses artificial intelligence to locate deposits of minerals like copper, lithium, and nickel.
By being supported by such big-name investors and pioneering the use of artificial intelligence in mining, it’s hardly surprising that the company announced its Series C funding round valued KoBold at US$2.96B. The round was co-led by new investor Durable Capital Partners LP and two T. Rowe Price funds, marking their first investment in KoBold.
Existing investors such as Andreessen Horowitz Growth, BOND, Gates’ Breakthrough Energy, Earthshot Ventures, Equinor, July Fund, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Standard Investments participated in the financing, along with new investors StepStone Group and WCM Investment Management.
The company states that the recent investment will support new exploration efforts, advance “high potential” projects to production, and enhance research and development. So far, KoBold has raised US$1B, as reported by the Financial Times.
In February, KoBold also partnered with Canada’s Midnight Sun Mining (TSXV: MMA) to explore the Zambian Copperbelt. Midnight Sun’s project is situated just a few kilometres from First Quantum Minerals’ (TSX: FM) Kansanshi mine, the largest copper mining complex in Africa.
KoBold will be exploring the Dumbwa target, located in the southern part of the Solwezi project, which features a 20km long soil anomaly with a peak copper grade of 0.73%.
Drill highlights from Dumbwa include:
• 13m of 0.63% copper, including 3m of 1.3% copper, starting from 85m downhole
• 12m of 0.65% copper, including 6m of 1.06% copper, starting from surface;
• 13.5m of 0.77% copper from 5m
• 16m of 1.24% copper from 164m
• 15m of 0.71% copper from 34m
