with Kurt House (
@kurtzhouse), John Thompson, Connie Chan (
@conniechan) and
Hanne Tidnam (
@omnivorousread) The exploration for and mining of certain
metals has driven huge epochs of human civilization, from copper and iron to
gold and diamonds. In this conversation, Kurt House, CEO and co-founder of
KoBold Metals; John Thompson, professor of earth and geosciences at Cornell
and longtime advisor to the mining industry; and a16z General Partner on the
consumer team, Connie Chan, talk with a16z's Hanne Tidnam all about why it is
that cobalt is suddenly one of the most important metals on the planet.
Because this metal makes today's best batteries, we have gone from little to
enormous demand—with that demand expected to only increase. This conversation
covers the way technology is transforming how we find cobalt, and the mining
industry as a whole. Along the way we touch on the science behind why exactly
it is that cobalt is so damn good in batteries; what we know about what makes
cobalt as a metal 'tick', where it's currently mined, and where it's most
likely to be found; what data and knowledge used to drive mining; and what the
new data sources, technologies, and techniques are today, from geophysical/
geochemical data, to agricultural information, to old boxes collected over
centuries in the basements and attics of mining cos…. all of this to satisfy
the incredible spike of demand for this material, as we enter a new age of
battery metals.
Read more
with Kurt House (
@kurtzhouse), John Thompson, Connie Chan (
@conniechan) and
Hanne Tidnam (
@omnivorousread) The exploration for and mining of certain
metals has driven huge epochs of human civilization, from copper and iron to
gold and diamonds. In this conversation, Kurt House, CEO and co-founder of
KoBold Metals; John Thompson, professor of earth and geosciences at Cornell
and longtime advisor to the mining industry; and a16z General Partner on the
consumer team, Connie Chan, talk with a16z's Hanne Tidnam all about why it is
that cobalt is suddenly one of the most important metals on the planet.
Because this metal makes today's best batteries, we have gone from little to
enormous demand—with that demand expected to only increase. This conversation
covers the way technology is transforming how we find cobalt, and the mining
industry as a whole. Along the way we touch on the science behind why exactly
it is that cobalt is so damn good in batteries; what we know about what makes
cobalt as a metal 'tick', where it's currently mined, and where it's most
likely to be found; what data and knowledge used to drive mining; and what the
new data sources, technologies, and techniques are today, from geophysical/
geochemical data, to agricultural information, to old boxes collected over
centuries in the basements and attics of mining cos…. all of this to satisfy
the incredible spike of demand for this material, as we enter a new age of
battery metals.
Read less