AI infrastructure is growing at an explosive rate, demanding massive amounts of copper for data centers, transmission lines, and cooling systems. But accessible copper is becoming scarce. Over 70% of global reserves exist in ores that traditional mining struggles to process, while billions of tonnes remain unused in waste piles. This gap between soaring demand and limited supply threatens to slow down the entire AI ecosystem.
Endolith, a startup founded by geoscientist Liz Dennett, aims to solve this looming crisis with microbial bioleaching. Instead of using energy-intensive grinding, smelting, or strong chemical leaching, Endolith deploys naturally evolved microbes that attach to ores and release copper more efficiently. These microbes work especially well on difficult ores like chalcopyrite and enargite.
The magic happens when machine learning enters the process. AI analyzes genomic and metabolic data to identify which microbial communities can thrive in harsh ore environments. These models help customize microbial mixes for each site, enabling higher copper recovery with less environmental impact.
Endolith’s approach has already attracted major partners like BHP. As AI continues to expand, copper remains a critical bottleneck and microbial mining may be the key to unlocking the metal needed to sustain future technological growth.
Read more-https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-copper