Gates-backed explorer makes play for Congo lithium deposit

KoBold Metals Co., backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, has told the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo it wants to develop one of the world’s biggest hard rock lithium deposits.

It’s the first major offer by a large US mining company to invest in the central African nation amid early-stage conversations about a potential minerals and security partnership between the two countries.

KoBold, which uses artificial intelligence to explore for materials key to the energy transition, has proposed taking over a sought-after mining license. It also aims to resolve a long-drawn dispute involving Australia’s AVZ Minerals Ltd., China’s Zijin Mining Group Co. and the government, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg News.

The spat has held up investment in the Roche Dure resource which could become a major producer of the battery metal.

The deposit “has the potential to become a large-scale, long-lived lithium mine,” KoBold chief legal officer Sandy Alexander wrote in a letter to Congo President Felix Tshisekedi’s chief of staff on Jan. 21. The company “would welcome the opportunity to develop the asset,” he said.

KoBold has more than 70 exploration projects around the world and is developing the Mingomba copper mine in neighboring Zambia, it said in the letter.

The offer came shortly before Tshisekedi proposed a minerals-for-security deal with US President Donald Trump’s administration. Congo’s government is struggling to contain a Rwanda-backed rebellion in its mineral-rich eastern provinces.

Zijin intends to open Congo’s first lithium mine in early 2026, next to the area targeted by KoBold. Even though lithium prices have tumbled more than 80% since a peak in 2022, Chinese firms have been ramping up output across Africa, locking down feedstock for refineries at home in anticipation of soaring future demand.

AVZ was close to breaking ground on the Manono project when Congo canceled its rights in 2023 and split the permit, handing one part to Zijin. KoBold’s proposal could settle the multiple arbitration cases filed in the aftermath, unlocking one of the world’s richest untapped sources of lithium, a crucial material used in electric-vehicle batteries. The Australian firm is trying to recover the entire exploration license.

KoBold said that to advance the plan AVZ would need to receive “appropriate compensation” and agree to transfer all its interests in Congo. Once all disputes are resolved, Zijin would keep the northern section of the deposit, and the US company would develop the southern portion.

KoBold also requested the Congolese government be the minority shareholder in any joint venture rather than state-owned Cominiere, AVZ’s partner before the relationship soured.

AVZ chief executive officer Nigel Ferguson and one of the company’s external lawyers were copied on the letter addressed to Anthony Nkinzo, who serves as Tshisekedi’s chief of staff.

KoBold declined to comment but confirmed it sent the letter. AVZ declined to comment, while Nkinzo did not respond to messages requesting comment. Since being granted the mining permit for the northern portion of Manono last year, Zijin’s “priority has been to develop the concession and commence production at the site,” a spokesperson for the company said by email.

Any takeover by KoBold would have to address a separate deal AVZ has with China’s Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies, which is co-owned by the world’s biggest EV battery maker and is helping fund the Australian firm during the arbitration proceedings.

Michael Bloomberg, the majority owner of Bloomberg News’ parent Bloomberg LP, is an investor in Gates’ Breakthrough Energy, which holds a stake in KoBold, according to the company’s website.

(By Michael J. Kavanagh and William Clowes)