Tembo Capital Increases Its Mining Bets in North America

Mining-focused Tembo Capital Management is seeking to expand its investments in North America as the private-equity firm bets that President Biden’s $2.3 trillion proposed infrastructure plan will boost demand for industrial metals.

“The numbers are quite vast in terms of the proposed projects and the proposed amount of money to be spent,” said David Street, chief executive of London-based Tembo. “You would expect [Biden’s plan] to have a significant impact on raw-material markets.”

Tembo is in the midst of pitching a fund to capitalize on these opportunities, according to regulatory filings and news releases. Mr. Street declined to discuss the fundraising. However, a separate person with knowledge of the effort said that the fund is nearing a second closing that would take it to the $115 million mark sometime later this month. The firm, which is seeking $300 million for Tembo Capital Mining Fund III LP, raised $175 million for its previous mining fund back in 2017, the person added.

Most of that fund is invested in assets across Africa and Latin America, an investor presentation viewed by WSJ Pro Private Equity shows.

Tembo has backed two deals in North America over the past 12 months. Last year the firm invested $15 million and received a 32% stake in Elim Mining Inc., a Sparks, Nev.-based mining company that operates the Cactus Mine copper project in Arizona, among other assets. Tembo more recently also invested $4 million in publicly traded gold mining company Maritime Resources Corp. , acquiring a 7.7% stake in the Canadian company, according to a press release.