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MARQUETTE -- Talon Metals Corp. announced that it has entered into an option and agreement with UPX Minerals Inc. to acquire up to an 80% ownership interest of the mineral rights in a land package composed of about 400,000 acres in the Upper Peninsula.
This land package covers what Talon Metals calls a "highly prospective terrain" within 1.7 miles of the high-grade Eagle Mine, a nickel and copper mine owned by Lundin Mining Corp. and 0.4 mile from the Humboldt Mill -- the concentrator that currently processes the raw nickel ore trucked from Eagle Mine.
The land package, Talon said in a news release, was originally assembled by Henry Ford and owned for approximately 70 years by the Ford Motor Company.
"The USA currently has only two known high-grade nickel deposits: Talon's Tamarack nickel project in Minnesota and the Eagle nickel mine in Michigan," Talon CEO Henri van Rooyen said in a statement. "These two exceptional deposits of high-grade nickel are definitive proof of the nickel potential in the Lake Superior region. Notwithstanding this, the amount of modern exploration of this nickel-bearing region is minuscule in comparison to other nickel districts around the world.
"Talon's experienced team of 'nickel hunters' has the benefit of technologies only dreamed of prior to 2020 -- new technologies mean faster data collection, processing, interpretation and drilling, culminating in the ability to generate and test a much larger number of high-priority targets simultaneously."
Talon President Sean Werger said in a statement, "Opportunities to obtain exploration rights in a proven prospective area like the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are rare. Henry Ford had the foresight to assemble this package of land as part of his integrated supply chain strategy as he helped the USA transition to motorized transportation. Now, Talon will explore that same land package for the battery minerals that are needed in the United States battery supply chain as the nation again fundamentally changes our transportation to electric vehicles."
Talon said it has entered into an option agreement with UPX to acquire up to an 80% ownership interest in the Michigan nickel properties. Under the agreement terms, Talon has agreed to a minimum spending obligation of up to $5 million in exploration expenditures or drilling of at least 7,500 meters.
Talon has until August 2027 to complete these minimum requirements. Talon will earn a 51% undivided interest in the Michigan nickel properties upon the completion of 25,000 meters of drilling, and will have until August 2027 to complete the stage one requirement, which may be extended in certain circumstances.
Talon will then have the option to earn an additional 29% interest in the Michigan nickel properties, resulting in an 80% ownership interest, upon delivering a feasibility study over a portion of the properties. If Talon does not complete this stage two requirement within eight years, which may be extended in certain circumstances, of determining a mineral resource at the properties, Talon's interest in them will revert to 49%.
Todd M. Malan, chief external affairs officer and head of climate strategy for Talon Metals, said in an email that the company will not begin exploration drilling in Michigan until the spring. Before that, the company plans to perform tribal consultations, such as showing how it handles cultural surveys, how it protects the land with drill pads to ensure it does not dig up ground or wetlands, and other actions.
Talon also has proposed a nickel mine in central Minnesota. Talon indicated it has an agreement with Tesla Inc. to supply it with 165 million pounds of nickel in concentrate, and certain byproducts including cobalt and iron, from the Tamarack Nickel Project over an estimated six-year period once commercial production is achieved. The company said it is developing the country's only high-grade nickel resource for the domestic electric vehicle battery supply chain.
According to teslarati.com, Talon Metals is a Tesla supplier and key partner.