KoBold听Metals, a start-up backed by a coalition of billionaires including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos,听has partnered with Britain鈥檚听Bluejay Mining听(LON: JAY)听to听explore for听critical materials used in electric vehicles听(EVs)听in Greenland.听
KoBold, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to help find key minerals听for green technologies, will pay $15 million in exploration funding for the Disko-Nuussuaq听project on Greenland鈥檚 west coast in exchange for a 51% stake in the project,听.听
Shares in听Bluejay听Mining听skyrocketed on the news, trading听up 25%听in London听at听11.64p听by mid-day听local time. This is the highest the stock has traded听since February 19, when it hit 11.9p. It leaves the听exploration company听with听projects in Greenland and Finland听with a market capitalization of 拢113.23 million (about $157m).听
The Disko-Nuussuaq听license听holds metals such as nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum and听KoBold鈥檚听funding will cover evaluation and initial drilling.听
BlueJay said previous studies have found that the area in western Greenland resembles the geology of Russia鈥檚 Norilsk region, a main producer of nickel and palladium.听
鈥淭his agreement is transformative for Bluejay,鈥� Bluejay CEO听Bo Stensgaard said.听鈥淜oBold听is an organization with the heft and technical capability to grow this project to its full commercial potential.鈥�
KoBold鈥檚听backers include big names such as Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and听Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The latter is financed by well-known billionaires including Michael Bloomberg, Ray Dalio, Richard Branson, as well as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and听Microsoft听co-founder Bill听Gates.听
Not a miner听
KoBold, as its chief executive officer Kurt House has stated multiple times, does not intend to be a mine operator 鈥渆ver.鈥澨�
The company听is听focused听on听searching听for听battery听metals, a quest that began last year in Canada. It听acquired rights to an area of about 1,000 square km听(386 sq. miles)听in northern Quebec, just south of Glencore鈥檚 Raglan nickel mine.听听
KoBold听aims to create a 鈥淕oogle Maps鈥� of the Earth鈥檚 crust, with a special focus on finding cobalt deposits. It collects and analyzes multiple streams of data 鈥� from old drilling results to satellite imagery 鈥� to better understand where new deposits might be found.听
Algorithms applied to the data collected determine the geological patterns that indicate a potential deposit of cobalt, which occurs naturally alongside nickel and copper.听
The California-based firm also expects to bring in other investors, potentially including its current backers, on a deposit-by-deposit basis. It will also seek mining-savvy partners once it has identified an interesting project.听