Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos’s firm discovers largest copper deposit in Zambia Chinedu Okafor February 5, 2024 3:05 PM
A start-up that Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have investments in just discovered massive copper deposits in Zambia. Production from this reserve is projected to decrease the West’s dependence on China for the precious material. It is also expected to aid in the fight for decarbonization, as the world gears more and more towards the use of electric vehicles. The startup: Kobold Metals, according to a report by Financial Times, disclosed that it recently discovered the largest copper reserve in Zambia. This discovery could not have come at a better time for the United States, considering its efforts to lessen dependency on China for certain valuable minerals, including copper, as well as its adoption of alternative energy sources. Some of the world's top mining firms have found it difficult to locate high-quality assets, despite the fact that demand for copper is expected to grow as the use of electric vehicles catches on. “We’ve spent a year with the largest fleet of drilling rigs in Southern Africa,” Josh Goldman, founder and president of KoBold Metals, told the Financial Times. “We now know that Mingomba will be one of the very highest grade large copper mines when put into production and it’s very much like Kakula in scale and grade,” he added. KoBold Metals, which has investments from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate change investment vehicle founded by Bill Gates, uses artificial intelligence to mine historical geological archives, such as old PDFs and even hand-painted maps on linen, and algorithms to help decide where to explore for minerals. According to the Financial Times, the California-based firm is valued at $1.15 billion, and its investors include BHP, the world's largest mining group, and oil behemoth Equinor.
