KoBold Metals Expands Lithium and Nickel Exploration to Namibia
KoBold Metals, a mining company backed by billionaire investors including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, is extending its search for lithium and nickel to Namibia. Mfikeyi Makayi, CEO of KoBold’s African operations, confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg that the company is now prospecting for critical minerals in the southern and central regions of the country.
Using artificial intelligence, KoBold aims to develop a comprehensive “Google Maps” of the Earth’s crust, focusing on locating deposits of copper, cobalt, nickel, and lithium. The company secured exploration licenses in Namibia in the third quarter of 2023. Although Namibia is best known for its uranium production, it has not been traditionally associated with lithium or nickel mining.
“This is why we’re exploring,” Makayi said. “Just because it’s not known doesn’t mean the opportunities to look deeper aren’t there.” The company remains in the early stages of prospecting and field exploration, with drilling yet to commence.
KoBold also plans to invest $2 billion in the Mingomba copper-cobalt mine in Zambia, which is regarded as the world’s highest-grade undeveloped large copper deposit. Mingomba holds 247 million tonnes of ore with an average grade of 3.64% copper. KoBold aims to produce over 300,000 tonnes of copper by the mid-2030s.
Valued at nearly $3 billion in its latest fundraising round, KoBold began its search for battery metals four years ago in Canada, where it acquired exploration rights in northern Quebec near Glencore’s Raglan nickel mine. The company detected lithium in the region and has since expanded to about a dozen exploration sites, including Zambia, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Quebec, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Western Australia.
KoBold’s exploration projects are supported by joint ventures with BHP and BlueJay Mining to search for minerals in Greenland. The company also maintains ongoing exploration activities in South Korea and the United States.
