Gates and Bezos backed U.S. start-up in race for Africa’s rare metals

Billionaire duo — Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos — have joined forces, backing U.S. start-up KoBold Metals, to develop mining ventures targeting rare metals across Africa. According to the company, the new investment, which is about half of the $1 billion raised to date, will finance new exploration, help advance “high potential” projects to production, and bolster research and development. This provides the African countries with the opportunity to generate significant revenue by tapping into the growing demand for rare metals.