--- title: 'Exploration Geologist at KoBold Metals Zambia' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/exploration-geologist-kobold-metals-zambia-northern-copperbelt-3vtfsddryjh6' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-10' --- # Exploration Geologist at KoBold Metals Zambia - **Company:** KoBold Metals Zambia - **Location:** Northern Copperbelt, Zambia - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2022-12-13 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/zambold/jobs/4148415005 ## Job description About the company: Zambold Exploration is a Zambian-led company exploring for the ore deposits that will become the next generation of new mines in Zambia. Zambold is the Zambian affiliate of KoBold Metals, a U.S.-based company exploring around the world for battery metals using proprietary AI to guide exploration decisions. Our business is discovering, defining, expanding, and developing mineral resources, and our objective is to achieve a step-change improvement in exploration success resulting in more tier 1 resources discovered faster, with fewer failures, and with far less exploration capital. KoBold is privately held; investors include institutional asset managers T. Rowe Price and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, Durable Capital, StepStone, and Standard Investments; and strategic natural resources companies BHP and Mitsubishi. Zambold is building a rapidly growing team of Zambian geologists, operators, and executives to identify, acquire, explore, and develop exploration opportunities and mineral resources drawing upon KoBold’s technology and the expertise of colleagues worldwide. We are hiring an Exploration Geologist to help accelerate our mission. ## About the position Zambold is looking for highly motivated and experienced Exploration Geologists who will be part of our multidisciplinary exploration team. In this role, you will be part of the core team responsible for planning and conducting exploration programs on our properties. You will help develop targets and plans to test them. You will oversee drilling, data collection on drill core, and other field activities from soil sampling to geophysical surveys.  You will help design and implement our proprietary software tools to gain insights from these geoscience data and guide exploration programs in real-time. As part of this process, you will work closely with both geologists and data scientists in Zambia and around the world. ## Responsibilities The Exploration Geologist will: - Have a working knowledge of sediment-hosted copper deposits - Be responsible for geological drill core/chip logging and mapping - Be responsible for sampling and geotechnical drill core logging - Handle day-to-day management of drilling and sampling campaigns - Perform a range of geological analyses to generate and refine targets and geologic models resulting from the data collection programs - Be able to work remotely depending on location of active projects - Work collaboratively with data scientists to get field data into our proprietary system and to produce and act upon insights from our models in geologic context ## Qualifications A great Exploration Geologist candidate will have: - A Bachelor’s degree in Geology - 5 years of relevant experience in exploration geology or economic geology - Experience with various drill core procedures and processes, including core logging and sampling - Experience with drill rig supervision - An strong desire to learn about geologic fundamentals, ore systems, and mineral exploration - Strong intellectual curiosity - Good computer skills including working knowledge of GIS and Microsoft Excel It is preferred but not required to have: - Exposure GIS and 3D modeling softwares, such as QGIS/ArcGIS, Leapfrog, Python, and/or ioGAS - A valid driver’s license We are committed to equal employment opportunities for all people. This position is a full-time contract role. At this time we are only accepting applications from Zambian nationals. Location: Residential 5:2 (i.e., five days on, two days off) based in Northern Copperbelt (i.e., Chingola or Chililabombwe). Fly-in fly-out considered for exceptional candidates. What to Expect Joining KoBold means getting the opportunity for hands-on exposure to our exploration projects around the world. All employees are expected to travel to project sites, with a minimum of one week per year. Field-facing and technical roles spend significantly more time in the field. ## About KoBold Metals Zambia ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: KoBold Metals Zambia is the Zambian subsidiary of KoBold Metals, a scientific mineral exploration and development company that uses AI and human expertise to discover critical minerals like copper and lithium for the energy transition. - **Entity Type**: Private (subsidiary of privately held KoBold Metals) - **Headquarters**: Lusaka, Zambia (with operations in Chililabombwe and the Northern Copperbelt) - **Founded**: Not publicly available - **Founders**: KoBold Metals was co-founded by Kurt House (CEO) and Josh Goldman (President); the Zambia entity is led by Mfikeyi Makayi (CEO of KoBold Metals Africa) [koboldmetals.com/team](https://koboldmetals.com/team/) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Mineral exploration and mine development, focused on copper, lithium, nickel, and other battery metals - **Target customers**: B2B – partners in the energy and mining sectors (e.g., ZCCM-IH joint venture at Mingomba) - **Mission statement**: “Finding the materials of the future with AI and HI” – combining artificial intelligence with human intelligence to make exploration a repeatable science [koboldmetals.com](https://koboldmetals.com/) ## Products & Services - **Mingomba Copper Deposit**: One of the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits, located in Zambia, being developed in partnership with ZCCM-IH [koboldmetals.com/mingomba](https://koboldmetals.com/mingomba/) - **AI-Powered Exploration Platform**: Proprietary predictive models, data systems, and novel sensors that integrate geological, geophysical, and geochemical data to identify drill targets faster - **Global Exploration Projects**: 100% owned and joint-venture projects across Zambia, DRC, and other regions - **Talent Development Program**: Masters of Science scholarships in Data Science and Exploration Geology in partnership with Stanford University, Copperbelt University, and University of Zambia [koboldmetals.com/mingomba](https://koboldmetals.com/mingomba/) ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not disclosed - **Key Metric**: Total investment in the Zambian economy exceeds $200 million to date; employs 200+ Zambian nationals and contractors [koboldmetals.com/mingomba](https://koboldmetals.com/mingomba/) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not explicitly listed in provided sources; publicly known investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and others (not verifiable from given sources) - **Growth Signals**: - 99% of the Zambia team are Zambian nationals - Described as “the largest American investor in Zambia” - Active recruitment across geology, engineering, IT, finance, and operations roles [koboldmetals.com/careers](https://koboldmetals.com/careers/) | [job-boards.greenhouse.io/zambold](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/zambold) ## Competitive Advantages - **AI + Human Intelligence**: Combines machine learning with world-class geoscientists to make exploration more predictive and efficient - **Scientific Rigor**: Bayesian approach to decision-making – form hypotheses, make predictions, test, and update - **Ethical Foundation**: Strong anti-corruption, anti-discrimination, safety, and environmental protection principles; never compromises on ethics [koboldmetals.com](https://koboldmetals.com/) - **Local Commitment**: Deep integration with Zambian talent, suppliers, and communities; “Built by Zambians” ethos ## Strategic Focus - **Mingomba Mine Development**: Advancing one of the best copper deposits ever found toward production - **Global Expansion**: Exploring in Zambia, DRC, and other regions for copper, lithium, and nickel - **Talent Pipeline**: Investing in local education and training to build the next generation of exploration geologists and data scientists - **Technology Scaling**: Deploying new sensors and AI models across projects to accelerate discovery ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Described as “Bayesian” – data-driven, hypothesis-testing, and collaborative; “We are all owners” culture with equity for employees [koboldmetals.com/careers](https://koboldmetals.com/careers/) - **Work Model**: Mix of on-site and remote roles; field positions in Zambia (Copperbelt, Chililabombwe) and office roles in Lusaka - **Team**: Multidisciplinary teams of geoscientists, data scientists, software/hardware engineers, and operations staff solving meaningful problems - **Impact**: Directly contributing to the energy transition by discovering critical minerals; opportunity to work on world-class deposits - **Perks**: Not explicitly listed; emphasis on ownership, collaboration, and professional growth ## Sources 1. [koboldmetals.com](https://koboldmetals.com/) – Main company site 2. [koboldmetals.com/mingomba](https://koboldmetals.com/mingomba/) – Mingomba project and Zambia operations 3. [koboldmetals.com/team](https://koboldmetals.com/team/) – Leadership team 4. [koboldmetals.com/careers](https://koboldmetals.com/careers/) – Careers page and culture 5. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/zambold](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/zambold) – Current job openings in Zambia ## Other roles at KoBold Metals Zambia - [Site HR Superintendent](https://feeny.ai/job/site-hr-superintendent-kobold-metals-zambia-chililabombwe-fj9qz7n3t9v8) — Chililabombwe, Zambia - [Senior Engineering & Integration Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-engineering-integration-manager-kobold-metals-zambia-remote-f7e2gcfc74kn) - [Commercial Director](https://feeny.ai/job/commercial-director-kobold-metals-zambia-remote-kbsdz0eq41sw) - [Personal Assistant, CEO](https://feeny.ai/job/personal-assistant-ceo-kobold-metals-zambia-lusaka-x3aje7vp1fss) — Lusaka, Zambia / Chililabombwe, Zambia - [Chief Mining Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/chief-mining-engineer-kobold-metals-zambia-lusaka-gz6hff7kn1p0) — Lusaka, Zambia - [Senior Accountant - Payable](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-accountant-payable-kobold-metals-zambia-lusaka-vpxhe4zcfent) — Lusaka, Zambia - [Executive Analyst Africa](https://feeny.ai/job/executive-analyst-africa-kobold-metals-zambia-lusaka-ehw0rq8yy9f1) — Lusaka, Zambia - [Security, Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/security-manager-kobold-metals-zambia-zambia-m6emhyakrfyq) — Zambia - [Senior Hydrogeologist](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-hydrogeologist-kobold-metals-zambia-northern-copperbelt-p0078tc3hmn4) — Northern Copperbelt, Zambia - [Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-kobold-metals-zambia-zambia-wcmx5e622h87) — Zambia