Source: Talon Metals. Original content: here
Tamarack, Minnesota (November 2, 2023) – Talon Metals Corp. (TSX:TLO, OTC:TLOFF) through its wholly-owned subsidiary Talon Nickel (USA) LLC (collectively, “Talon” or the “Company”), has signed a definitive agreement with the US Department of Energy setting the terms, conditions and performance milestones for $114,846,344 in grant funding created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“Our team is excited to reach this funding milestone with the Department of Energy to build-up America’s battery manufacturing capacity from processing through to recycling,” commented Henri van Rooyen, CEO of Talon. “The Department of Energy has worked diligently to put this agreement in place, and we are grateful to be entrusted with this funding that reflects a bi-partisan, national priority to reduce America’s dependence on foreign countries like Russia and China for critical minerals like nickel. This agreement includes our commitments to engage with the local community in North Dakota to ensure community input and benefit sharing, develop a diverse workforce with our partners in organized labor and seek meaningful input from tribal sovereign nations in the region.”
Talon’s Battery Minerals Processing Facility was selected by the Department of Energy on October 19, 2022 as one of the projects that will receive funding to expand and secure the United States domestic manufacturing of electric batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and grid storage. Congress and President Biden have made responsible and sustainable domestic sourcing and processing of critical minerals like nickel a national priority. The definitive agreement announced today will allow Talon to immediately begin accessing funding under the DOE award and sets specific milestones for the siting, design, permitting, community engagement, construction and commissioning of the Battery Minerals Processing Facility in Mercer County, North Dakota. The Talon processing facility will be capable of processing ore from multiple economically viable, operating sources in North America. Talon has an agreement with Tesla Inc. and the North Dakota processing facility will produce nickel in concentrate for Tesla.
Talon Chief External Affairs Officer and Head of Climate Strategy Todd Malan commented:
“We are committed to producing the necessary ingredients like nickel for the US battery supply chain while also protecting the environment and cultural resources where we operate. Now we can move forward with our partners to advance the planning and construction of the battery minerals processing facility in North Dakota.”