Latest news with #KoBoldMetals
TimesLIVE
08-05-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
KoBold Metals agrees on framework to buy stake in DRC lithium deposit
California-based metals exploration company KoBold Metals said on Wednesday that it had agreed on a framework to buy AVZ Minerals' interests in the Manono lithium deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The agreement will enable KoBold, which is backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, to invest more than $1bn (R18.27bn) to bring lithium from Manono to Western markets. Lithium, a key metal used extensively to make batteries for electric vehicles and various consumer electronics, is produced in limited quantities in the US, leading to a heavy reliance on China. The administrations of both President Donald Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, have made efforts to reduce this dependency. Last month, Massad Boulos, President Trump's senior adviser for Africa, said that the US is in talks to invest billions of dollars in the mineral-rich DRC. The country boasts vast reserves of cobalt, lithium, uranium and other minerals essential for the energy transition. Both the Silicon Valley start-up and AVZ Minerals said that they were collaborating with all stakeholders involved in the deal, including the governments of the United States and the DRC.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bezos-Backed Firm Signs Deal to Advance Congo Lithium Mine
(Bloomberg) -- KoBold Metals Co. has reached a preliminary agreement to move forward with the development of one of the world's biggest hard rock lithium deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Battle Over the Fate of Detroit's Renaissance Center Vail to Borrow Muni Debt to Ease Ski Resort Town Housing Crunch Is Trump's Plan to Reopen the Notorious Alcatraz Prison Realistic? Iceland Plans for a More Volcanic Future The firm, backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, reached a framework agreement with Australia's AVZ Minerals Ltd. to buy the latter's stake in project on the Manono deposit, according to a letter signed by KoBold Chief Executive Officer Kurt House and his AVZ counterpart Nigel Ferguson. 'The agreement will enable KoBold to rapidly deploy more than $1 billion to bring the Manono lithium to Western markets,' said the companies, which are working on the arrangement with the US and Congolese governments. The announcement comes after Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi met with Massad Boulos, US President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa, to discuss potential American investment and security assistance in Congo's fight against a Rwanda-backed rebel group. Tshisekedi is hoping US interest in Congo's minerals will encourage the Trump administration to back his government, which is teetering amid the rebel advance in the east. Besides lithium, the central African nation is the world's second-largest source of copper and biggest producer of the electric-vehicle battery metal cobalt. Any final deal for the lithium around the southeastern town of Manono will require the resolution of multiple arbitration cases surrounding the deposits. AVZ was close to breaking ground on mine construction when Congo canceled its rights in 2023 and split the permit, handing part to China's Zijin Mining Group Co. AVZ is willing to suspend the arbitration proceedings to 'facilitate discussions' between the parties, the two CEOs said in the letter. Congo will need to return the license containing the southern section of the Manono project to KoBold for the development to proceed. KoBold has proposed a plan that would see AVZ receive compensation, while Zijin continues developing a mine in the northern portion of the Manono deposit, according to another letter addressed to Tshisekedi's office in January and seen by Bloomberg. Rio Tinto Group has also held talks with Congo and KoBold about investing in the project. Spokespeople for Congo's presidency and mines ministry didn't immediately respond to questions seeking comment on the agreement between AVZ and KoBold. AVZ said in 2020 it intended to build a mine at Manono capable of producing about 700,000 tons of lithium concentrate a year for two decades. That would the biggest operation of its kind outside Australia. Michael Bloomberg, the majority owner of Bloomberg News's parent Bloomberg LP, is an investor in Gates' Breakthrough Energy, which holds a stake in KoBold, according to the company's website. (Updates with information on arbitration cases from seventh paragraph) US Border Towns Are Being Ravaged by Canada's Furious Boycott Pre-Tariff Car Buying Frenzy Leaves Americans With a Big Debt Problem Made-in-USA Wheelbarrows Promoted by Trump Are Now Made in China Inside the Dizzying Chaos of Running a Freight Business Under Trump Why Juggling IVF With Work Can Be a Career Killer ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
E&E News
07-05-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Bill Gates-backed firm to buy Congo lithium deposit
KoBold Metals, backed by billionaire Bill Gates, has brokered a deal to buy a massive lithium project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. KoBold, which uses artificial intelligence to explore for materials key to the energy transition, announced Wednesday that it had hammered out a framework for buying Australia's AVZ Minerals' interest in the Manono lithium deposit in the southern Congo in central Africa. The company said the Trump administration helped shepherd through the deal and in a message on X thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Massad Boulos, the department's senior adviser for Africa; and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi for 'opening doors for U.S. investment' and agreeing on a framework for the investment. Advertisement 'We'll make America & DRC safer, stronger & more prosperous,' the company wrote.
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
KoBold Metals agrees on framework to buy stake in Congo lithium deposit
May 7 (Reuters) - California-based metals exploration company KoBold Metals said on Wednesday that it had agreed on a framework to buy AVZ Minerals' interests in the Manono lithium deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The agreement will enable KoBold, which is backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, to invest more than $1 billion to bring lithium from Manono to Western markets. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. Lithium, a key metal used extensively to make batteries for electric vehicles and various consumer electronics, is produced in limited quantities in the United States, leading to a heavy reliance on China. The administrations of both President Donald Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, have made efforts to reduce this dependency. Last month, Massad Boulos, President Trump's senior adviser for Africa, said that the United States is in talks to invest billions of dollars in the mineral-rich Congo. The country boasts vast reserves of cobalt, lithium, uranium and other minerals essential for the energy transition. Both the Silicon Valley start-up and AVZ Minerals said that they were collaborating with all stakeholders involved in the deal, including the governments of the United States and the DRC.
Bloomberg
07-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bezos-Backed Firm Signs Deal to Advance Congo Lithium Mine
KoBold Metals Co. has reached a preliminary commercial agreement to move forward with development of one of the world's biggest hard rock lithium deposits, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The firm backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos reached a framework agreement with Australia's AVZ Minerals Ltd. to buy the latter's stake in a project for the Manono deposit, according to a letter signed by KoBold Chief Executive Officer Kurt House and AVZ CEO Nigel Ferguson.
