Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos-Backed Company Strikes Copper in Potential Score for Electric Vehicles

Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are striking it rich in Zambia.

KoBold Metals, a company backed by both the Microsoft co-founder and Amazon founder, recently struck a deposit of copper in Zambia that’s being described as “one of the world’s biggest high-grade large copper mines,” according to a statement from KoBold president Josh Goldman. He also compared its size and quality to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Republic Democratic of Congo, which is the fourth largest copper resource globally.

KoBold Metals’ discovery could help meet surging demand for copper amid the global transition to renewable energy. The metal is vital to electricity-related technologies used in numerous electric vehicle components including batteries, motors and charging stations, according to the Copper Development Association. The Berkeley, California,-based company uses artificial intelligence to search for lithium, cobalt, copper, and nickel through more than 60 projects across six continents. Those target metals are critical for building renewable energy infrastructure such as solar panels, EV batteries and more, according to the International Energy Agency.

KoBold boasts investment from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which counts Gates, Bezos, Alibaba’s Jack Ma, Virgin Group’s Richard Branson and legendary investor Ray Dalio on its board or among its investors. The startup’s other investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Australian multinational mining giant BHP, and Norwegian energy company Equinor, according to CNBC.

Demand for minerals is likely to double globally as the world transitions to clean energy. Since the IEA reports that today’s mineral supplies aren’t adequate to fuel the transition, projects like KoBold’s will be key.

The startup was anticipating building out its Mingomba mining project within a decade, but plans to fast-track the $2 billion project, thanks to the copper discovery.  The company may also consider other partnerships and listing its share publicly, according to Reuters.

The accelerated timeline is good news for Zambia.

“We will develop Mingomba into a mine faster than ten years. The accelerator is firmly on the floor,” CEO of KoBold Metals Africa Mfikeyi Makayi said in a statement.

The Zambian Presidential Delivery Unit wrote in a memo that the discovery could make “unprecedented contributions to the economy of the country and the wellbeing of its people.” The mine will be a joint venture with the government of Zambia, meaning the Zambian people own a direct stake in the project.

KoBold’s discovery isn’t even the first good news for Gates’ climate investments this month. Last week, Breakthrough Energy Ventures-backed Heart Aerospace raised $107 million in funding to build a hybrid-electric airplane.