The startup focuses on projects in Zambia.
Mining startup KoBold Metals, backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and other household names, has raised another $537 million in its latest funding round. According to the Financial Times, the round valued the company at almost $3 billion. The company said it will use forty percent of the raised capital to develop existing projects into mines, with the majority going to its ventures in Zambia. In February, the company announced it had discovered the largest copper deposit found in the Southern African country in a century, adding that it could become one of the world’s leading high-grade mines.
KoBold uses artificial intelligence in its exploration work to find deposits of battery raw materials, including copper, cobalt, and lithium. It employs the technology to sift through historical data as well as scientific models to identify possibly untapped mineral deposits. Financial backing in earlier funding rounds also came from Norwegian energy company Equinor and Japanese automaker Mitsubishi (we reported).
Located in Zambia, KoBold’s main project could benefit from the U.S. government’s efforts to revive the Lobito Corridor, a railway link between Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Angolan port town of Lobito on Africa’s west coast. The infrastructure plan plays a pivotal role in enabling the efficient transportation of raw materials from Africa’s Copperbelt to global markets, positioning it as a strategic counterbalance to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Photo: iStock/SeventyFour
