EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT

Rio Tinto JV partner Talon lauds discovery at Tamarack

Rio Tinto’s joint venture partner Talon Metals has claimed a discovery at the pair’s Tamarack nickel-copper-cobalt project in Minnesota.

Staff reporter
 Core from Tamarack, Talon Metals and Rio Tinto’s JV in Minnesota

Core from Tamarack, Talon Metals and Rio Tinto’s JV in Minnesota

Talon announced an "unexpected" thick intercept of 13.88m of mixed massive nickel-copper mineralisation starting at 225m at the CGO West target, 100m from the project's resource area.

It was the thickest intercept to date at CGO West and was unexpected as surrounding holes had patterned sheet-like mineralisation up to 5m thick, Talon said.

"Intersecting almost 14m of massive sulphide in a zone that lies outside of our resource area is clearly a new discovery," head of geology Dr Etienne Dinel said.

"Given the shallow depths of this new discovery, our rigs should be able to delineate this area quickly and add it to a new resource estimate later this year."

Assays were pending.

The "green nickel" hopeful is planning to create battery nickel's first transparent and traceable supply chain from the mine through to the EV customer.

An updated preliminary economic assessment in February showed strong economics for three scenarios, namely producing nickel sulphates for the EV market, nickel concentrates to produce refined nickel powders for the EV market or concentrates for the traditional stainless steel market.

Talon can earn up to 60% of Tamarack under a 2017 deal, after turning down the option to purchase Rio subsidiary Kennecott Exploration's 81.55% for US$114 million.

Talon raised C$34.5 million at 60c per unit in March.

Its capitalised exploration costs and deferred expenditures on the Tamarack in the March quarter totalled $6.4 million.

The company reported a net loss for the period of $0.8 million.

Talon shares (TSX: TLO) closed up 3.5% to 59c, valuing it at $403 million (US$333 million).

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the farming sector, brought to you by the Kondinin team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the farming sector, brought to you by the Kondinin team.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Investor Sentiment Report 2024

Survey revealing the plans, priorities, and preferences of 120+ mining investors and their expectations for the sector in 2024.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Mining Equities Report 2023

Access an exclusive, inside look on the quarterly mining IPOs and secondary raisings data and mining equities performance tables with an annual Stock Exchange Comparisons supplement.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence World Risk Report 2023 (feat. MineHutte ratings)

A detailed analysis of mining investment risks across 121 jurisdictions globally, built on 11 ‘hard risk’ metrics and an industrywide survey.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Global Leadership Report 2023: Social licence

Gain insights into social licence trends and best practices from interviews with 20+ top mining company executives and an industrywide survey.