Ceibo raises over $30 million for sustainable copper leaching

Chile-based Ceibo closed a Series B round exceeding $30 million to scale its copper leaching technology that cuts water use and environmental impact. As copper demand rises with electrification, the development is relevant to India's energy-transition supply chains and mineral sourcing.

Ceibo, a sustainable mining technology firm based in Santiago, Chile, closed a Series B round exceeding $30 million to advance its leaching technique for extracting copper more cost-effectively and responsibly. Copper is pivotal to the low-carbon transition, with demand set to surge as energy, transport, and industrial systems electrify. Ceibo's process enhances copper production while minimising water usage and environmental footprint, and extends leaching to deeper reserves previously requiring resource-intensive concentration and smelting, integrating into existing mining infrastructure.

Mining operators and copper-dependent clean-energy supply chains are affected, as Ceibo's method makes leaching viable for deeper reserves where most copper sits. Energy Impact Partners led the financing, with mining-focused investors CoTec Holding, Audley Capital, Orion Industrial Ventures, Unearth Capital, and Opalton, plus existing investors Khosla Ventures and Aurus Ventures. BHP Ventures, the venture unit of mining giant BHP, also joined, signalling strategic industry support for scaling more sustainable extraction methods.

Indian renewable, EV, and grid manufacturers dependent on copper should monitor Ceibo's global technology deployment, which CEO Cristobal Undurraga said the capital and BHP Ventures' support will accelerate. Stakeholders concerned with critical-mineral availability and the environmental footprint of extraction can track how leaching of deeper reserves scales, given its lower water use. Procurement and ESG teams should watch for more sustainable copper supply as electrification drives demand across the energy transition.

Key figure — Series B raised: over $30 million for copper leaching technology