Toronto-listed Talon Metals Corp has won a US$20.6 million funding boost from the US Department of Defense (DoD) to step up sulphide nickel exploration in the Lake Superior region of Minnesota and Michigan in the US.
Talon is earning up to 60% of the Tamarack nickel-cobalt-copper project in Minnesota, a joint venture with Rio Tinto. It currently has 51% of the project.
The Tamarack North area has an indicated resource of about 8.6 million tonnes grading 1.73% nickel, plus other metal credits, and an inferred 8.46Mt at 0.83% nickel.
Talon owns five of its own drill rigs and has reported a string of promising drill results outside the current resource area.
The junior says it can spend $21.8 million on exploration while the DoD contributes a further $20.6m over 39 months under their agreement. Talon previously announced it had secured $114 million of US Department of Energy funding for its proposed battery mineral processing facility in Mercer County, North Dakota.
The new exploration funding is said to be aimed at helping Talon find and delineate more high-grade nickel deposits within the country’s Midcontinent Rift geology.
“This funding makes clear that domestic supply of nickel is a national security priority,” said Talon CEO Henri van Rooyen.
“Congress and the Biden Administration have created powerful new tools to build-up domestic supply of critical minerals required for clean energy systems and national defence.
“With this funding, Talon will be able to accelerate our efforts to discover domestic sources of battery grade nickel and help ensure that the United States is not dependent on Russia, China or Chinese companies operating in countries like Indonesia for nickel that is needed in both defence platforms and clean energy systems.”
Talon has a current market value around C$250 million.