Talon Metals Corp., through its U.S. subsidiary Talon Nickel, will provide nickel concentrate from the Tamarack Nickel Project in Minnesota to Tesla Inc. Tesla has committed to purchase 75,000 metric tons (165 million lbs) of nickel in concentrate. Tesla also has a preferential right under the agreement to negotiate the purchase of additional nickel concentrate over and above the initial commitment.
The agreement is six years or until the total has been produced and delivered to Tesla.
“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 CEO Henri van Rooyen said. “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.”
van Rooyen said Talon is excited to support Tesla’s mission to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.
“The Talon team has taken an innovative approach to the discovery, development and production of battery materials, including to permanently store carbon as part of mine operations and the investigation of the novel extraction of battery materials,” said Drew Baglino, senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering at Tesla. “Responsible sourcing of battery materials has long been a focus for Tesla, and this project has the promise to accelerate the production of sustainable energy products in North America.”
Talon will use commercially reasonable efforts to achieve commercial production on or before January 1, 2026, at the Tamarack Nickel Project, which may be extended by the agreement of the parties for up to 12 months following which Tesla has a right to terminate the agreement and Talon may elect to sell to other parties.
Talon and Tesla will work together to optimize nickel concentrate grades and metal recoveries.
The purchase price will be linked to the London Metals Exchange (LME) official cash settlement price for nickel. The parties have also agreed to share in any additional economics derived from byproducts extracted from the nickel concentrate, such as iron and cobalt.
