Sierra Leone woos miners to clean energy with $11 billion plan
Most mining firms rely on their own diesel supplies to extract iron ore, diamonds, rutile and bauxite in the resource-rich country.
Silicon Valley start-up KoBold Metals, which uses artificial intelligence to identify battery metal deposits, has appointed a woman as CEO of its copper unit in Zambia, making her the country’s first female head in a mining exploration company.
Top female executives at global metals and mining companies held just over 11% of C-suite positions in 2022, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence shows.
In Zambia, Africa’s second biggest producer of copper, which is in high demand for the transition to a low-carbon economy, Mfikeyi Makayi will be the most senior woman yet in the mining sector.
“I am the first Zambian woman running an exploration or even a mining company in the country… (Mining) is something that will drive our economy into the future if we get this right,” Makayi told Reuters in an interview.
Makayi, whose home country is Zambia, has a master’s degree in mining engineering from Britain’s Camborne School of Mines, and worked for Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals and Caterpillar before taking up her leadership role in Zambia.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema aims to boost the country’s copper production to 3 million tonnes a year by 2032, from around 850,000 tonnes last year.
Hichilema said in a statement “KoBold Zambia, with Mfikeyi at the helm” would play a critical role in achieving the country’s ambitions to increase copper output.
KoBold, which has exploration partnerships with mining giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto, is backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate and technology fund founded by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and supported by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Virgin’s Richard Branson.
Its Mingomba copper project in Zambia contains 247 million tonnes of ore with a high grade of copper and requires around $1 billion in investment to be built. It is a joint venture with Australian private equity firm EMR Capital and state-backed miner ZCCM-IH.
(By Clara Denina; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
9 Comments
Mwiya Songolo
Congratulations ? Mfikeyi Makayi for your appointment as CEO for KoBold Metals. Yours is not just the first female CEO for a mining exploration company in Zambia but the first Zambian female CEO in the mining industry. We are proud of you. Wishing you God’s blessings and insight in your new role.?
Kelvin Sipobole
WOW ! Mfikeyi Makayi, a big congratulations to you. It’s not easy being among the few C- suite women in the mining industry in the world. There is so much that our country, Zambia, has to offer in the mining & minerals sector. I am proud that KoBold has picked on you to be it’s first country CEO… Wishing great success ahead…..
Mwelwa Tembo
Congratulations Ms. Mfikeyi Makayi, may your appointment birth a new, unparalleled & unprecedented horizon.
I wish you all the best, till we meet serve well.
Natalie Mufalo
Hearty congratulations to you on your appointment This an incredible milestone for zambian mining and us women!
Davies
Congrats thumbs up
Chimuka Ntombizine Mweetwa
Hearty congratulations to you Mfikeyi Makati on your appointment as CEO for Kobold Mining. You’ve achieved the first CEO slot in the male dominated industry and that is no minor achievement. Well done. May God guide svd protect you as you execute your duties. Maybe grant you wisdom in all your undertakings. Be blessed and more blessings!
Lube
A big congratulations to you Mfikeyi??
KENNEDY MUMBA
Congratulations
[email protected]
Mkayi just seen this, Congratulations for this big appointment. Wishing you a well and may God guide in your role.