Talon Metals expands resource at Tamarack nickel project in Minnesota

This, the company said, means that CGO West continues to be open to the west.

“While we had intended to be finished drilling in the CGO West area by now, the high-grade nickel-copper mineralization just seems to keep going,” Talon Metals chief exploration officer Brian Goldner said in the statement.

“We feel it is prudent to continue drilling within the CGO West area to further expand our resource,” he added.

The company has added two more drill rigs to follow up on various geophysical anomalies to identify potential satellite high-grade nickel-copper deposits.

Talon noted that work on a feasibility study continues as it expects to begin production in 2026.

The miner inked in January a nickel supply agreement with electric vehicle maker Tesla, which committed to buy 75,000 tonnes (165 million pounds) of nickel over six years, with an option to increase the delivered tonnage.

Nickel helps cram more energy into cheaper and smaller battery packs, allowing EVs to charge faster and travel farther between plug-ins. 

The Tamarack nickel-copper-cobalt project, located 210 km (130 miles) north of Minneapolis and 89 km (55 miles) west of Duluth, is comprised of the Tamarack North and Tamarack South projects, with approximately 31,000 acres of private land and state leases.

Tamarack is considered the only high-grade development-stage nickel project in the US.

Talon currently holds a 51% stake in Tamarack, but has the option to increase it to 60% by completing a feasibility study and paying $10 million to joint venture partner Rio Tinto.