Shaft-sinking at the US$2.5 billion Mingoma copper mine in Zambia is on track to start next year.

Mining Weekly reports that the mine, owned by the Bill Gates- and Jeff Bezos-backed Kobold Minerals, has completed land acquisition for key mine infrastructure, including processing plants, a tailings dam and administrative facilities.

‘We’re now full swing into our permitting process for us to get approvals to start building the mine,’ says Kobold Africa CEO Mfikeyi Makayi.

‘With us moving quite fast, it’s to get that build into production early 2030s,’ she says.

The mine is expected to produce 300 000 tons of copper annually.

A Silicon Valley start-up, Kobold uses artificial intelligence to search for copper, cobalt, nickel and lithium, minerals that are central to the manufacturing industry, especially for cars and smartphones.

The company has also secured exploration licences for lithium and nickel in Namibia, lithium in the DRC and Zambia, and copper in Botswana.

24 March 2026
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