CHILE · MINING · COPPER EXPLORATION
Tom Hunt, chief technology officer of the artificial-intelligence explorer KoBold Metals, told Chile’s Diario Financiero that the country is “definitely under-explored” for copper, although his company has no project there yet.
Key Facts
- —The claim KoBold’s chief technology officer calls Chile “definitely under-explored” and points to copper deeper underground.
- —The company KoBold uses artificial intelligence to find mineral deposits and has no project in Chile yet.
- —The ranking Chile leads world copper exploration spending with US$669.6 million in 2025, or 20.5% of the total.
- —The US link Chile supplied 68% of US refined copper imports from 2021 to 2024.
- —The gap Only 2 of 94 exploration companies counted in Chile in 2025 were from the United States.
- —Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 63.6 points (October 2026 edition).
Tom Hunt, chief technology officer of the mineral-exploration company KoBold Metals, told the Chilean business daily Diario Financiero in an interview dated Saturday 24 October 2026 that Chile is “definitely under-explored” for copper. KoBold, which uses artificial intelligence to choose where to drill, has no project in Chile yet, and Hunt said it has not found the right partner.
For US readers the claim touches a supply line, since Chile provided 68% of US refined copper imports from 2021 to 2024, according to the US Geological Survey, and copper joined the official US list of critical minerals in November 2025. It is also the view of an interested party, because Diario Financiero reports that KoBold earns no revenue until a mine it helped find starts producing.
In Plain English
- KoBold Metals: an exploration company founded in 2018 that uses data, sensors and machine learning to pick drilling targets.
- Under-explored: an area where many ore bodies are thought to be undiscovered because few drill holes have reached deep enough.
- Porphyry copper: a large copper deposit that forms deep underground; Hunt says the first Chilean mines were found where such deposits had eroded to the surface.
- Cochilco: the Chilean Copper Commission, the state agency that advises the government and publishes mining statistics.
What Hunt Told Diario Financiero
Hunt argued that Chile’s first mines were the easy finds, because porphyry copper formed at least three to five kilometres (about two to three miles) down and only bodies that rose and eroded left surface clues. “All those deposits have already been found,” he said, but about 1,000 metres (about 3,300 feet) further down he sees “an equivalent distribution” of ore bodies that are far harder to find, since each sample needs a US$1 million drill hole.
“I guarantee you they are there in Chile, because of how the ore formed,” Hunt said, adding that it is “a matter of putting up the money and the brains” to find them. This is a geological opinion, and the interview offers no Chilean drilling or survey data to back it.
“Definitely under-explored.”
Tom Hunt, KoBold Metals, Diario Financiero, 24 October 2026 (our translation)
KoBold is not active in Chile “yet”, Hunt said, stressing the word because “we know Chile has world-class rocks”, though the best ground already has an owner. It wants a joint venture with a partner such as Codelco, Chile’s state copper company, that would supply the land while KoBold supplies its models, sensors and, depending on the partner, operations.
Who KoBold Metals Is
KoBold was founded in 2018 by Kurt House, now its chief executive, Josh Goldman, now its president, and Jeff Jurinak, and says its goal is to turn exploration into a “repeatable science”. Diario Financiero reports that it has about 50 projects at different stages, in Zambia, Congo, Namibia, Sweden, Finland, Canada, the United States and Australia but none yet in South America.
Diario Financiero reports that KoBold pools satellite images, geophysical surveys, old drill logs and hand-drawn maps into one database, and Hunt says its sensor reads about 500 colours where a phone camera reads three, with geologists deciding where to drill. The company asks governments for concessions or forms joint ventures, sells no software and, the paper says, expects revenue only when one of its mines produces.
Its flagship, the Mingomba copper project in Zambia, broke ground on Wednesday 29 April 2026 with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema present, KoBold says, and the company puts the investment at more than US$2 billion, with about 300,000 tonnes of copper a year targeted and first output expected in the early 2030s. We covered the project in our earlier report on the Mingomba mine.
What Chile’s Own Data Shows
The Chilean Copper Commission, known as Cochilco, counted US$874.7 million of exploration spending in Chile in 2025, which put the country fourth in the world with 7.1% of the US$12.4 billion global total. In copper alone Chile ranked first, with US$669.6 million, or 20.5% of world copper exploration, ahead of the United States at US$398.3 million.
Chile Exploration in 2025
- Budget: US$874.7 million, up US$80.7 million from 2024.
- Who pays: large miners 78.9%, junior explorers 14.8% (US$129.1 million).
- Where it goes: 51.4% inside operating mines (US$449.3 million), US$206.5 million to initial-stage exploration.
- Prospects: 235 in all, with 158 active and 77 stalled.
- Copper in the ground: 731.9 million tonnes of reserves and resources, the most of any country.
Cochilco says the challenge is to turn that spending into discoveries and developable projects without relying too heavily on work next to existing mines. It adds that more than 80% of active prospects lie in the northern regions of Atacama, Antofagasta and Coquimbo.
What It Means for You
The real stake for US readers is dependence on Chilean metal. Chile supplied 68% of US refined copper imports from 2021 to 2024, the US Geological Survey says, and it estimates that net imports covered 57% of US copper use in 2025, up from 45% in 2024.
Copper joined the US List of Critical Minerals on Friday 7 November 2025, a list the Interior Department says guides strategies to secure the nation’s mineral supply chains. Cochilco counted only 2 US companies among the 94 firms exploring in Chile in 2025, against 48 from Canada and 18 from Australia.
Cochilco says Chile allows accelerated six-year depreciation of exploration spending and sets its corporate tax rate at 27%. The interview itself announces no deal, project or investment, so it is a signal of intent, not a business event.
What to Watch
- Whether KoBold names a Chilean partner or a project.
- Hunt’s appearance at Mining MAS Pitch, an event organised by DF MAS and ME Elecmetal on Wednesday 4 November.
- Whether Codelco or other Chilean operators answer the joint-venture idea.
- Whether Cochilco’s next exploration catalogue, after the November 2025 edition, shows more early-stage work.
What Is Not Known
No Chilean project, partner, concession or budget has been named. “Under-explored” is Hunt’s opinion, and we found no Chilean government measure that says so.
A 2021 Cochilco study found that new copper discoveries did not measurably change early-stage exploration budgets, a sign of balance between new information and lost ground, and called Latin America balanced for copper and gold. It covers regions, not Chile alone.
KoBold has one large discovery so far, and Hunt will discuss its hit rate only “when we have five discoveries”. Diario Financiero reports that a Berkeleyside profile quoted the mining executive Mike Anglin saying Mingomba extends ore bodies already mapped, and the consultant Mothusi Pahl saying KoBold underestimated its cost, claims we could not check.
Diario Financiero’s headline says KoBold is backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman, but KoBold’s website shows only logos of funds and companies such as Andreessen Horowitz and BHP Ventures. We could not confirm the Bezos and Altman stakes at any KoBold or investor page, so we attribute the claim to the newspaper.
Connected Coverage
- Chile Natural Resources Explained 2026, the copper, lithium and mining base of the economy.
- Copper in Latin America 2026: Mines, Prices and Politics, the regional picture.
- Chile’s State Copper Giant Codelco Explained, the company Hunt named as a partner type.
- Latin America Critical Minerals Draw a US-China Supply Race, the geopolitics.
- KoBold Metals Just Got Its First Lithium Ground in Congo, the company’s other new ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Tom Hunt and what did he say about Chile?
Tom Hunt is chief technology officer of KoBold Metals, an exploration company that uses artificial intelligence. He told Diario Financiero, in an interview dated Saturday 24 October 2026, that Chile is “definitely under-explored” for copper.
Does KoBold Metals operate in Chile?
No, Hunt said the company is not active in Chile yet and has not found the right partner. Diario Financiero lists its projects in Zambia, Congo, Namibia, Sweden, Finland, Canada, the United States and Australia.
Is Chile really under-explored?
That is Hunt’s opinion, and we found no Chilean government measure that says so. Cochilco does show Chile first in world copper exploration spending, at US$669.6 million in 2025.
Why does Chilean copper matter to the United States?
Chile supplied 68% of US refined copper imports from 2021 to 2024, according to the US Geological Survey. Copper has also been on the US List of Critical Minerals since November 2025.
Who backs KoBold Metals?
Diario Financiero describes it as backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman. KoBold’s website shows logos of funds and companies, including Andreessen Horowitz and BHP Ventures, but no individuals.
Sources: Diario Financiero, interview with Tom Hunt, dated 24 October 2026, KoBold Metals, team page, KoBold Metals, about page, KoBold Metals, home page and investor logos, KoBold Metals, Mingomba groundbreaking, 21 May 2026, Cochilco, catalogue of exploration companies, update 2025, Cochilco, analysis of exploration and mining investment incentives, 2025, Cochilco, geological maturity study 03/2021, Cochilco, mission, US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, copper, Federal Register, Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals, 7 November 2025. All retrieved 25 October 2026. Hunt’s statements are known through the Diario Financiero interview, translated from Spanish by us.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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