Burundi signs AI-driven minerals deal with Bezos and Gates-backed KoBold

Burundi has signed a three-year agreement with US-based mining companies KoBold Metals and Lifezone Metals to explore critical minerals needed for the global energy transition, marking a significant step in the East African country’s push to attract foreign investment into its natural resources sector.

• Burundi has signed a three-year minerals exploration agreement with US mining firms KoBold Metals and Lifezone Metals.
• The partnership will use artificial intelligence to analyse the country’s geological data to identify critical minerals.
• KoBold, backed by billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, plans to digitise Burundi’s mineral database and make it publicly accessible.
• Officials say the deal could pave the way for future mining investments tied to the global clean energy transition.

The memorandum of understanding was signed in Washington, D.C. by Burundi’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Energy, Industry, Trade, and Tourism, Hassan Kibeya, alongside Lifezone Metals chief executive Chris Showalter and representatives of KoBold Metals. The signing ceremony was presided over by Sarah Troutman.

KoBold Metals, which counts high-profile investors such as Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates among its backers, already operates mining projects in parts of central and southern Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The company focuses on minerals critical to clean energy technologies, including lithium, cobalt, and copper.

Under the agreement, KoBold plans to digitise Burundi’s geological data and make it publicly accessible by July, a move aimed at accelerating mineral discovery and improving transparency in the country’s mining sector.

“We are pleased to help digitise Burundi’s geological data and make it immediately available to the public to stimulate discovery and economic development,” the company said in a statement.

The partnership will see KoBold deploy specialists to analyse large geoscientific datasets using advanced computing and artificial intelligence to identify potential deposits of lithium, cobalt, copper, and other strategic minerals.

Burundi’s government described the agreement as a key step towards strengthening cooperation with the American mining industry. Officials say the research phase could pave the way for future mining investments if commercially viable deposits are identified.

The deal, which runs for three years with an option for renewal, reflects growing international competition for critical minerals essential to the clean energy transition and global technology supply chains.