Gates-backed KoBold begins hunt for battery metals in Namibia
KoBold Metals Co., backed by billionaires including Bill Gates and Sam Altman, is extending its search for battery metals to Namibia, a country not known for producing the minerals.
The company is prospecting for lithium and nickel in southern and central Namibia after securing licenses in the third quarter of last year, Mfikeyi Makayi, chief executive officer of its African operations, said in an interview Tuesday in Cape Town.
KoBold was valued at nearly $3-billion in its latest fund-raising round. The US-based company uses artificial intelligence to scour the earth for undiscovered deposits of minerals critical to the energy transition. Lithium and nickel are both crucial to make rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles.
Yet Namibia isn’t known for producing either — the southwest African nation is better known as one of the world’s biggest sources of uranium.
“This is why we’re exploring,” Makayi said. “Because it’s not known doesn’t mean the opportunities to look deeper are not there.”
KoBold is still doing early-stage prospecting and field exploration before it starts drilling, she said.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation