Dear Neighbor,
Big news! Talon Metals recently announced an agreement with Tesla to supply 165 million pounds of nickel concentrate that will come from the Tamarack Project located in Northeast Aitkin County.
That’s great news for our region of Minnesota. It’s a clear indication of the project’s viability. Current market value of the nickel under contract is about $1.5 billion.
The agreement covers six years in which the $1.5 billion of nickel concentrate is to be produced. Tesla is a major manufacturer of electric vehicles. The Tamarack Project has the potential to produce the nickel needed to manufacture batteries for 10s of thousands of electric vehicles.
Henri van Rooyen, CEO of Talon recently commented, “This agreement is the start of an innovative partnership between Tesla and Talon for the responsible production of battery materials directly from the mine to the battery cathode. Talon is committed to meeting the highest standards of responsible production that is fully traceable and that has the lowest embedded CO2 footprint in the industry. Talon is excited to support Tesla’s mission to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.”
This is a great opportunity for Minnesota to actively participate in producing the material needed to power the electric vehicles which are an important future alternative to the gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles of today.
The major steps ahead include an extensive environmental review of the mining plan the company will put forward. The detailed information from the environmental review will provide the basis for what the project is allowed and not allowed to do. Those requirements are then detailed the variety of state and federal permits required for a project of this scope.
Minnesota’s mining regulations represent the gold standard in ensuring both the environment and worker safety are protected. Currently, most of the world’s non-ferrous minerals are mined in nations with lax environmental and worker safety regulations. This is an opportunity for the US and Minnesota to lead the way in demonstrating how to safely produce the minerals needed to power the electric vehicles that the market will demand.
As I stated in a recent news release, “This agreement shoots a gaping hole in the recent unfounded speculation by anti-mining groups and some individuals that attempt to discredit Talon’s stated goal of producing mineral resources that will be used in the manufacture of future electric vehicles.”
Sincerely,
Dale