By:Mining Weekly

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.