Billionaire-owned mining companies invest in Greenland to explore and mine electric vehicle metals

Bluejay Mining PLC said on Monday that it was in the process of forming a joint venture with KoBold Metals to develop its projects on Disco Island and Nusawak Peninsula in Greenland.

KoBold Metals is a private mining exploration company owned by global billionaires such as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. Its main investors are Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Equinor ASA, a Norwegian energy company.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures is a fund overseen by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Investors in the fund also include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, media mogul Michael Bloomberg and other business tycoons. Andreessen Horowitz is a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.

Under the agreement, KoBold will invest $15 million in exploration by December 31, 2024, resulting in a 51 per cent stake in the Disco Nickel, Copper, Platinum and Cobalt project.

The project will use KoBold's exploration technology, machine learning and other computing techniques to determine where to buy land, which field data to collect, and where to drill to discover new mineral deposits.

"this agreement is transformative for Company B," said Bo Steensgaard, CEO of Bluejay. We are pleased to have a top partner in technological innovation in new exploration methods and with the support of some of the most successful investors in the world. "

"they have brought a lot of practical technology and financial capacity to this project," Rod McIllree, executive chairman of Bluejay, said in an interview. What we provide is assets and the ability to operate effectively in Greenland. "

Directors of Bluejay believe that Disco may have deposits similar to those of the Norilsk-Talnakh mine on Russia's Temer Peninsula, which was developed in the 1930s as a nickel mine and later became a mine of several different types of metals: cobalt, gold, silver, platinum and copper. "the mine is very similar to the Norilsk-Talnakh mine and has a very high grade," McIllree said.

So far, Bluejay has identified more than 20 ore targets throughout the project, with the two largest targets being 5.9km and 10km long, respectively. "the plan for next year is to use KoBold technology to gain a better understanding of the mining area, and it is even possible to drill," McIllree said. "

Copper, nickel and cobalt are key components in the manufacture of electric vehicle batteries and other components. The purchasing director of electric car giant Tesla has repeatedly stressed that the company expects a global shortage of nickel, copper and other electric vehicle battery minerals.