The Bill Gates-funded startup’s copper rush has just begun
KoBold Metals, the US startup that uses artificial intelligence to find deposits of high-demand metals, has discovered one of the largest copper mines in Zambia. In the era of the energy transition, the company is financed by a series of very famous billionaires. Facts, names and numbers
KoBold Metals, the startup that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to find deposits of high-demand metals, has located one of the largest copper mines in the world. And, therefore, his activity is far from over.
Here are the latest news and future projects.
A BILLION PROJECT MADE OF BILLIONAIRES
KoBold Metals is an American startup, backed by a group of billionaires , that uses artificial intelligence to optimize the search for metal deposits. Its investors include Bill Gates' climate and technology fund, Breakthrough Energy; venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz; Norwegian energy giant Equinor; and the world's largest mining group BHP.
Additionally, Breakthrough Energy investors also include hedge fund manager Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates, Richard Branson of Virgin Group, Jack Ma of Alibaba and Jeff Bezos of Amazon.
KoBold Metals currently has more than 60 exploration-stage projects underway across 4 continents, in which it invests more than $60 million per year, and its president, Josh Goldman, said the company intends to go public in the next three or four years to finance their activities.
THE FUTURE OF COPPER IS IN ZAMBIA
Among KoBold Metals' most recent discoveries is that of an important copper deposit in Zambia. In fact, at the beginning of February, the startup declared that the Mingomba deposit will be "one of the largest high-quality copper mines in the world". The $2 billion project, according to Goldman, will be built faster and sooner than the 10 years initially planned.
The president of KoBold Metals then compared the size of the deposit to the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which represents the fourth largest copper resource in the world: in 2023 it produced almost 400,000 tonnes of copper.
THE ROLE OF AI IN METAL SEARCH…
To find deposits of high-demand metals, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, which are critical in making renewable energy products such as solar panels and electric vehicle batteries, KoBold Metals leverages its AI technology.
To discover deposits, the startup collects satellite images and drilling data, then uses artificial intelligence to develop real "treasure maps" of the earth's crust and search for metals.
… AND (THEREFORE) IN THE ENERGY TRANSITION
Identifying new deposits is vitally important and KoBold Metals knows this. As Goldman pointed out , “the purpose of the company is to discover, source and develop the mineral resources we need for the energy transition.”
However, while the demand for metals is high, the supply of deposits is low. In fact, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), current investments in the discovery of deposits "are less than those needed to transform the energy sector".
CRITICAL ISSUES RELATING TO COPPER
Regarding copper, the IEA notes that “electricity networks require a huge amount of copper and aluminium, and copper is the cornerstone of all electricity-related technologies. […] In a scenario that respects the objectives of the Paris Agreement […], their share of total demand will increase significantly over the next two decades, to exceed 40% for copper and rare earth elements, 60 -70% for nickel and cobalt and almost 90% for lithium”.
Furthermore, “[…] in a scenario consistent with climate objectives, it is estimated that the expected supply from existing mines and projects under construction can satisfy only half of the expected lithium and cobalt needs and 80% of the copper by 2030”.
Added to these issues are the growing climate risks to which mining assets are exposed since copper, like lithium, is particularly vulnerable to water stress, given its high water requirement. And as the IEA reminds us, “over 50% of current lithium and copper production is concentrated in areas with high levels of water stress” and “many of the main producing regions, such as Australia, China and Africa , are subject to extreme temperatures or flooding, which pose greater problems in ensuring reliable and sustainable supplies.”
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/la-corsa-al-rame-della-startup-finanziata-da-bill-gates-e-appena-iniziata/ on Thu, 07 Mar 2024 10:07:00 +0000.