KoBold Metals, the Bill Gates-backed mining exploration company, is considering an investment of $2.3 billion to develop a significant new copper mine in Zambia, according to President Hakainde Hichilema, who referenced company estimates.
The company aims to produce over 300,000 metric tons of copper annually at the Mingomba site, potentially making it the largest operation of its kind in Zambia. Construction of the mining shaft is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2026, according to company representatives. The announcement was made during a meeting with President Hichilema, which was broadcast on state television.
Zambia aspires to become one of the world’s leading copper producers, a key component for green technologies such as electric vehicles and wind turbines. With the global shift away from fossil fuels, copper shortages are anticipated in the coming decades. Hichilema has previously stated that the Mingomba project could eventually rank among the world’s three largest copper mines.
Officials from KoBold, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, met with Hichilema and a delegation of prominent investors who were in Zambia to review the company’s operations. This delegation included senior representatives from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Standard Industries, Equinor Ventures, Bond Capital, and T. Rowe Price.
Michael Bloomberg, the principal owner of Bloomberg News’s parent company Bloomberg LP, is also an investor in Breakthrough, as noted on the venture company’s website.
