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Ceibo, an advanced copper extraction technology company, today announced it has raised a $30 million Series B financing. The round was led by Energy Impact Partners, with participation from a syndicate of new mining-focused investors including CoTec Holdings, Audley, Orion Resources, Unearth and Pincus Green along with existing investors Khosla Ventures and Aurus Ventures. The funding round will enable Ceibo to accelerate the scale-up of its proprietary technology, drive several on-site trials and prove the technology’s value and versatility at scale.

Copper is ubiquitous in our lives – it is a core metal used across electricity, transportation, communications and construction, among other industries. With increased adoption of renewables and electric vehicles, demand for copper is expected to more than double by 2050 – representing massive growth for an already scaled and mature industry. Producing this copper economically will be critical for society’s transition to clean energy. But declining ore grades, changing mineralogy and constrained permitting processes threaten to limit copper supply growth and challenge the energy transition.

Ceibo has developed a novel leaching process and solution that economically increases the production of copper, using existing infrastructure at mines with a lower environmental footprint than current state-of-the-art. Ceibo’s technology targets Chalcopyrite and other refractory Copper minerals which hold 70%+ of known copper reserves.

“Following positive results from a lengthy validation process using minerals from leading copper companies, we’re now poised to rapidly scale our technology,” said Cristóbal Undurraga, CEO and Co-founder of Ceibo. “This capital raise, together with the strategic support from investors experienced in scaling clean, industrial, and mining technologies, will help us accelerate plans to deploy our technology globally and meet society’s need.”

Founded in Chile, the world’s largest copper-producing country, Ceibo has assembled a diverse team of seasoned professionals from several relevant industries. Ceibo’s 50-person workforce comprises scientists, engineers and mining operators, all committed to creating a more sustainable future for mining and society.

“We are thrilled to support Cristóbal and Ceibo’s objective to develop a highly effective, economic, and easy-to-integrate approach to copper extraction,” said Shayle Kann, Partner at EIP. “The looming copper supply shortage will quickly become a major bottleneck to electrification, and we think Ceibo has the right team developing the right technology to be the leader in solving this problem.”

Photo courtesy of Chris Hunkeler.