No Priors Ep. 111 | With KoBold Metals Co-Founder and President Josh Goldman
From No Priors
Josh Goldman•Co-Founder and President, KoBold Metals
Executive Summary
Cobalt Metals is a mineral exploration company using proprietary AI, machine learning, and a massive collection of geoscience data to improve the success rate of finding critical minerals like copper and lithium.
The company has discovered the Mingomba deposit in Zambia, described as the highest-grade large copper deposit in the world not yet in development, with a core concentration over 5% copper.
The demand for copper and lithium is projected to surge dramatically due to the energy transition (batteries, EVs) and the build-out of AI infrastructure, requiring more copper to be mined in the next 25 years than in all of human history.
The mineral exploration industry's success rate has declined tenfold over the past 30 years, creating a significant opportunity for a technology-driven approach to de-risk and accelerate discovery.
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Concerns Raised
The historically low and declining success rate of the mineral exploration industry.
Geopolitical and regulatory risks associated with operating in various global jurisdictions.
China's dominant position in the downstream processing of critical minerals.
Opportunities Identified
Massive structural demand for copper and lithium driven by the energy transition and AI.
Applying modern AI and data science to a traditionally slow-to-innovate industry.
The potential for 100-1000x returns on successful mineral discoveries.
Leveraging vast amounts of underutilized public and historical geoscience data.