Welcome to KoBold Metals Zambia
OUR INVESTMENT
We’ve contributed over $200 million to the Zambian economy to date, full stop.
And we’re just getting started. As the largest American investor in Zambia, our pledge to electrify the world by discovering crucial battery metals starts with an unwavering commitment to the economies that can make this happen.
Our Community
KoBold Metals is also committed to training the next generation of exploration geologists. This is why we have partnered with Stanford University, the Copperbelt University and the University of Zambia to offer Masters of Science scholarships in Data Science and Exploration Geology. This two-year program advances cutting-edge geosciences and exploration innovation in Zambia.
Our People
Everything we do starts with our team of amazing leaders.
This includes our CEO of KoBold Metals Africa, the first female head of a Zambian mining company. We find and train the next generation of Zambian talent to help us leave a positive impact on the Copperbelt and the country as a whole.
CEO of KoBold Metals Africa
Mfikeyi Makayi
CEO of KoBold Metals Africa
Mfikeyi is an engineer and seasoned mining professional with over 15 years experience in industry. She worked on one of Zambia & Africa’s largest copper mines, First Quantum’s Kansanshi Copper-Gold mine in mining operations and the global internal audit division covering Australia, Finland, Mauritania and Panama’s operations. She was also the Country Manager and Director of one of Zambia’s largest mining and construction equipment supply and services companies, Barloworld Equipment, supplying Caterpillar products to various industries. Her portfolio covered First Quantum’s Kansanshi and Sentinel Mines, Barrick’s Lumwana Mine, Mopani Copper Mines, and Gemfields’ Kagem mine, the world’s largest emerald mine.
Mfikeyi has a BSc in Civil Engineering and an M. Eng in Environmental Engineering both from Old Dominion University, and an M.Sc. in Mining Engineering from Camborne School of Mines at the University of Exeter. She is an Executive MBA Candidate from the Lagos Business School at Pan-Atlantic University.
Chief Legal Officer - Zambia
Chil Sokota Chileshe
Chief Legal Officer - Zambia
Chil is a commercial Lawyer and an advocate of the High Court and Supreme Court of Zambia of more than Seventeen years standing. Her previous role was Partner in charge of Mining and Real Estate at Chibesakunda & Co. where she spent over 16 years. While at Chibesakunda & Co. she covered extensive corporate and commercial work including banking and finance and M&A.
Chil holds an LLB and LLM from the University of East Anglia in the UK.
Director of Exploration - Zambia
Alex Matthews
Director of Exploration - Zambia
Alex has managed exploration programs in Zambia and DRC from conceptual target generation through to resource definition drilling for both copper-cobalt and lead-zinc sediment-hosted deposits. He has been based in Zambia since 1999 and led programs for Avmin, Teal, and MMG. Earlier in his career, Alex was a section geologist on a Witwatersrand gold mine before moving into exploration geology in Namibia, where he undertook regional and detailed geochemical and geological mapping programs: the results of which led to planning, implementing and interpreting diamond and percussion drill programs.
Alex holds an MSc in Mining Geology from the Camborne School of Mines.
Accounting Manager - Zambia
Chikumbuso Ziwa
Accounting Manager - Zambia
Chikumbuso has over 20 years of progressive experience in accounting and internal audits. He started his career in internal auditing at the Zambia Revenue Authority, and then moved into a senior accounting role at Metal Fabricators of Zambia Plc. He has spent the last 18 years at First Quantum Minerals, where he held different senior accounting roles and served as Financial Controller before joining KoBold Metals.
Chikumbuso is a Chartered Accountant with ACCA and is also a fellow of ZICA.
Chief Mining Engineer
Fanuel Banda
Chief Mining Engineer
Fanuel studied Mining Engineering and Civil Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines, USA, and has worked in the mining industry for over 16 years. He focuses on mine design and scheduling and producing plans that are safe, achievable and add value. Fanuel is also keenly interested in the old age challenge of optimizing mine plans while maintaining flexibility. He spent his career in gold country mines in northern Nevada interspaced by a 2-year stint at Lumwana Mine (NW Province, Zambia) in a variety of roles including building management operating systems. Fanuel spent the last 5 years with Freeport-McMoRan leading the Strategic Mine Design and Scheduling Team for the Indonesian Operations (PTFI). He recently completed the mine design and scheduling feasibility study work for the 33mtpa Kucing Liar project in the Grasberg Copper District in Indonesia.
Fanuel has lived and worked in the USA and Zambia. He has a BSc in Mining Engineering, an MSc in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is a member of SME.
Senior Policy Liaison - Zambia
Gideon Ndalama
Senior Policy Liaison - Zambia
Gideon is a seasoned Mining Engineer with over 34 years of experience. He brings with him a wealth of experience from the Ministry of Mines where he has served in various senior roles such as Director of Mines Safety, Director of Mines, and Head of the Mining Cadastre. Gideon reports to the Chief Legal Officer role, held by Chileshe Sokota.
Community Engagements Manager - Zambia
Gladys Kashimoto
Community Engagements Manager - Zambia
Gladys brings 14 years experience in Community Relations having worked in Zambia, DR Congo, Sierra Leone on various community projects around exploration. Gladys is a trained teacher with a BSc. in Mathematics and worked as a Math teacher for 13 years before moving into administrative roles in Zambia under the Government of the Republic of Zambia.
Her goal is to help transform people’s lives through sustainable livelihoods. Some of her notable achievements include the successful implementation of the sustainable livelihoods project at Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula project in the DR Congo under Eco-Livelihoods. Gladys enjoys active community interactions and this has been one of the major factors in her achieving success. Her hobby is farming and due to this she spends most her off days at the farm.
Social Performance Lead - Zambia
Jean Mukumwa
Social Performance Lead - Zambia
Jean is a monitoring and evaluation expert and has a degree in Demography. She has more than 10 years of experience in community-centered Government and Development Partner-supported programs and projects. Her expertise lies in community-driven development, environmental and natural resource management, business enterprise development, and research. Jean reports to the Chief Legal Officer role, held by Chileshe Sokota.
Project Controls Manager - Zambia
Kalimina Mwinga
Project Controls Manager - Zambia
Kalimina is a mechanical engineer and project management professional with over 15 years experience. He has successfully managed engineering and construction projects in various industries within southern Africa, starting in Zambia for Cosira Group before moving to South Africa with the same company. He then moved on to Murray and Roberts, Veolia Water and BEH where he managed a various portfolio of engineering and construction projects from feasibility stage through to take over and operation. He worked on a number of large projects including Medupi and Kusile power station, Anglo Platinum, Royal Bafokeng Platinum (now Impala Bafokeng) and Rand Water. He has also implemented and managed the rollout of project governance systems and procedures as well as the set up of a Project Management Office (PMO). He has experience in managing multidisciplinary teams on complex projects. He brings a wealth of experience in engineering and construction management.
Kalimina holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Honors) from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom and is registered with the Project Management Institute as a Project Management Professional.
Head of Corporate Communications
Katongo Chilufya
Head of Corporate Communications
Katongo is a lawyer with vast experience in Corporate Communications and Public Relations where she has held senior positions spanning from Dangote Industries to Atlas Mara Bank. Katongo reports to the Chief Legal Officer role, held by Chileshe Sokota.
Field Operations Lead
Johan Lubbe
Field Operations Lead
Johan has built a unique set of skills and experience over the last 30 years in the exploration and mining industry. His career started as a junior member of an exploration team, developing and growing into more senior roles over the years. In the last 19 years, he has been more involved in the operational side of projects, being part of both new project setup and existing project support throughout Africa. This include different commodities (diamonds and various base metals) for both major and medium-sized companies.
Lead Drilling Manager
Lian Visser
Lead Drilling Manager
Lian has been in the drilling and mineral exploration industry for the past 18 years, starting his drilling career in the United States by being part of numerous gas production wells and city water wells across the nation. Upon his return to home soil with Site Management and Drilling experience, Lian played a key role in successfully managing mineral exploration projects across Africa for Ivanhoe Exploration and First Quantum Minerals.
His ability to successfully complete geologically challenging drill holes is unparalleled, adding value and confidence to any exploration project aiming to succeed in hitting drilling targets and collecting valuable data for geologists and data scientists.
Director of Finance - Zambia
Lupupa Chapewa
Director of Finance - Zambia
Lupupa has over 15 years experience as a finance professional with the professional services firms and the financial services sector. She has held senior managerial positions and served as Chief Financial Officer for Bayport Financial Services, the largest micro-financing company in Zambia. Prior to that spent most of her career as Audit Manager with Deloitte & Touche and BDO in Zambia, the United Kingdom and Cayman Islands.
Lupupa is a Fellow Chartered and Certified Accountant with ACCA attained from ZCAS, Fellow of the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (FZICA) and holds an MBA from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Senior Geometallurgist
Monica Kalichini
Senior Geometallurgist
Monica is a Mineral Processing Engineer with over 10 years of experience in the Geometallurgy, Process Mineralogy and Flotation Chemistry of copper, nickel and zinc deposits. She began her career with FQM’s Kansanshi mine, where she developed deep expertise in the characterization of mixed mineral ores through partnership with ZEISS for the development of mine site-based Operational Mineralogy. She later worked as a Copper-Zinc Senior Project Metallurgist for Nevsun Resources’ Bisha mine before pivoting into mineralogy-based chemical sales for Betachem, primarily supporting FQM’s Sentinel mine, Barrick’s Lumwana mine, KCM’s Nchanga mine, and CNM’s Munali mine in Zambia, before returning to FQM to eventually take up a global role spearheading the development and implementation of standardized geometallurgical frameworks across the mining value chain.
Monica has a Bachelor of Mineral Sciences from the University of Zambia and an M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town. She is a member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration.
HSE Lead - Zambia
Rodrick Besa
HSE Lead - Zambia
Rodrick is a Health, Safety and Environmental Practitioner currently working for Mingomba Mining as an HSE Lead. He has over 23 years of experience in the Exploration, Mining, Construction, Cement, Health, Logistics, and Cable Manufacturing industries. He brings a track record of achieving more than a calendar year with no Lost Time Injury at the biggest open pit mine in Zambia, operating more than 100 (180-ton) haul trucks and other heavy equipment. Rodrick also achieved OSHAS 18001 and ISO 45001 Certification for Kansanshi Mine and Zambia Metal Fabricators Limited respectively.
Rodrick holds an International Diploma in International Management of Occupational Health and Safety from NEBOSH, a Diploma in Nursing, an Advanced First Aid Certificate in Mining, an Open Pit Blasting License, and currently pursuing a Master’s in Occupational Health, Safety and Environment.
Geology Manager
Sitwala Mulonda
Geology Manager
Sitwala is a Geologist with over 10 years of experience, having started his career at KCM. He joined KoBold Metals as a Senior Exploration Geologist, a role he has held for the past year. Sitwala has effectively led the Mingomba geology team on most technical aspects of the Mingomba delineation drilling and early pre-feasibility study work. He also collaborates with external consultants on hydrogeology and geotechnical matters. Sitwala reports to the VP of Resources role, held by George Gilchrist.
Site Drilling Manager - Zambia
Timmy Mangalilo
Site Drilling Manager - Zambia
Timmy is a seasoned drilling professional having worked for over 18 years in the exploration and mining sector in Zambia and Saudi Arabia. His career spans working for Equinox Minerals-Lumwana Mine, FQML’s Kansanshi Mine, Razel Bec – Kariba Dam rehabilitation, & Ma’aden Mine in Saudi Arabia. Timmy reports to the Global Drilling Manager role, held by Lian Visser.
IT Lead - Zambia
Tulemye Mpengula
IT Lead - Zambia
Tulemye is an experienced Information Technology support specialist with a demonstrated history- over a decade of experience working in the industry. He specializes in system administration and employee training to ensure the smooth running of ICT systems, which improves the efficiency and performance of a company. Tulemye worked for Voyagers Zambia as Head of IT and supported offices country-wide, including an international office in Mauritius. He then moved to manage a digitization and data entry program at Wiphan, an NGO in Ndola. He joined KoBold Metals as the first in-country network support technician and now the IT Lead for Zambia.
Tulemye holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BIT) from Northrise University in Zambia.