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Talon Metals shares rise on massive sulphide discovery at Tamarack project

Staff Writer | March 27, 2025

Talon Metals (TSX: TLO) has made a massive sulphide discovery at its Tamarack project in central Minnesota that it says could represent a significant extension to the existing nickel-copper-cobalt resource. Its shares surged on the announcement.


In a press release late Wednesday, the company said it has been infilling the Tamarack resource area as it looks to complete a feasibility study in support project’s environmental permitting process. During this work, the exploration team re-examined and extended a historic drill hole which encountered significant mineralization at a depth of 707.75 metres, drilling 8.25 metres that was logged as 95% sulphide content.

This represents the second significant discovery by Talon’s team in the space of five months. In October, the battery metals explorer announced the Boulderdash copper and nickel discovery in the nearby state of Michigan.

Shares of Talon Metals closed Thursday’s trading session 23.5% higher at C$0.10 apiece, for a market capitalization of C$92.6 million ($64.7m).

The new discovery at Tamarack is situated approximately 150 metres below and 50 metres south of the known nickel-copper mineralization within the current resource area, where a drill hole previously intercepted 7.74 metres of massive sulphide assaying 8.01% nickel and 2.87% copper.

The location, as the Talon team points out, is significant, as it could be a laterally extensive area with a lack of drilling, and may even host some of the highest-grade nickel and copper mineralization discovered to date at Tamarack.

Timely discovery
The Canadian miner also cheered the timing of its new discovery, as it comes days after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to boost domestic production of critical minerals.

“Talon is uniquely positioned to respond – we operate the only integrated geophysics and drilling team in the United States dedicated to finding new sources of domestic nickel, copper and cobalt,”Talon CEO Henri van Rooyen said in a press release.

According to Talon’s chief exploration officer Brian Goldner, the mineralization model for Tamarack is that “the nickel mineralization was draining down through the intrusive system and pooled up at the bottom of the massive sulphide” near the previous intercept.

“This type of pooling is also seen at the world’s most prolific high-grade nickel producer, in Norilsk, Russia, once again showing similarities that Tamarack shares with the global giants,” Goldner added.

Following the discovery, Talon has advanced towards follow-up drilling after an EM survey conducted on the extension of the discovery hole identified a strong off-hole conductor.

The Tamarack project currently hosts a mineral resource of 8.6 million tonnes grading 1.73% nickel and 0.92% copper in the indicated category and 8.5 million tonnes grading 0.83% nickel and 0.55% copper in the inferred category.

First Atlantic Nickel shares soar on new discovery

Staff Writer | February 27, 2025


The Atlantic nickel project is located 40 km from Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland. Credit: First Atlantic Nickel

First Atlantic Nickel (TSXV: FAN) soared to its highest in over two years after a new high-grade discovery was made at the company’s district-scale project in central Newfoundland.


The drilling occurred at the Super Gulp zone of the Atlantic nickel project, with a total of five holes completed during the initial phase. The first hole returned assays as high as 0.32% nickel and 0.8% chromium, averaging 0.25% nickel and 0.28% chromium over the entire 293.8-metre length.

Shares of the Canadian junior surged 20% at Wednesday’s market close following the results, giving it a market capitalization of C$26.8 million. During the session, the stock hit a new 52-week high of C$0.34, compared to a low of C$0.075.

The discovery hole — located 16 km south of the Atlantic Lake zone and 10 km north of the RPM zone — confirms the continuous awaruite nickel mineralization within the company’s district-scale 30-km trend, First Atlantic said in a news release Wednesday.

The company noted that the Super Gulp hole significantly exceeded the average depth of historical drilling in the Atlantic Lake zone, which had 0.22% nickel over its entire 87.15-metre length.

To test what it believes to be a new major nickel zone within the 30-km trend, First Atlantic is set to begin a second phase of drilling at Super Gulp while it awaits the remaining drill results from Phase 1.

Alongside drilling, the company is also conducting a metallurgical test on the awaruite-style mineralization to quantify the amount of magnetically recoverable nickel and evaluate the project’s suitability for magnetic separation as a commercial processing method.

Merdeka Battery gets $1.4 billion loan for new nickel plant

Bloomberg News | February 25, 2025

Nickel producer PT Merdeka Battery Materials has obtained a $1.4 billion loan to fund the construction of a plant located on Sulawesi island, according to a company statement.


Bangkok Bank PCL, PT Bank Permata, PT Bank Mandiri, PT Bank Negara Indonesia and PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia provided the seven-year senior secured and non-recourse loan, according to the statement.

PT Sulawesi Nickel Cobalt is the borrower of the facility, the proceeds of which will finance the construction of a high-pressure acid leach plant located within the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, the statement showed. Such processing plants will produce nickel or cobalt chemicals used for EV batteries.

The construction of the plant comes at a time when the nickel industry is grappling with weak prices and tight supply of ores in Indonesia. The Southeast Asian country now accounts for more than half of world’s nickel output and has been aggressively wooing investment for its domestic processing industry.

A subsidiary of China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. will manage the construction of the new HPAL plant, according to the statement. The project has a total investment of approximately $1.8 billion, with a construction time of 18 months starting January. It will have an annual capacity of 90,000 tons a year.

Merdeka Battery indirectly owns stakes in Sulawesi Nickel Cobalt via its subsidiary PT Merdeka Energi Baru, which controls 50.1% in the nickel firm, according to the statement.

Indonésie : un producteur de nickel va investir 1,8 milliard de dollars dans une usine de raffinage

AFP le 26 février 2025

Un producteur indonésien de nickel va investir 1,8 milliard de dollars dans la construction d'une usine alors que la première économie d'Asie du Sud-Est cherche à valoriser sa production de minerais et métaux.

Plus grandes réserves mondiales de nickel

La société PT Merdeka Battery Materials a annoncé cette semaine avoir signé des accords pour la construction d'une usine pour extraire et traiter le nickel et le cobalt sur l'île de Sulawesi (Célèbes).

L'Indonésie détient les plus grandes réserves mondiales de nickel mais ne possède que des activités industrielles limitées dans le processus de raffinage, ce que le gouvernement tente de faire évoluer.

Financée par un prêt de 1,4 milliard de dollars US (1,33 milliard d'euros), la construction de l'usine débutera en janvier prochain et doit durer 18 mois. L'usine sera construite dans le parc industriel de Morowali, l'un des plus grands centres de production de nickel d'Asie du Sud-Est.

Investissements massifs de la Chine

En 2023, des centaines de travailleurs indonésiens avaient manifesté contre les conditions de travail dans une usine de transformation de nickel financée par la Chine, située dans le même parc industriel, après une explosion qui avait fait 18 morts.

La Chine investit massivement dans cette région riche en nickel, un métal de base utilisé dans les batteries des véhicules électriques et dans l'acier inoxydable.

L'exploitation du nickel est associée à la déforestation, selon des mouvements de protection de la nature et à des violations des droits de certaines communautés autochtones qui voient leur territoire ancestral amputé.

Indonesia sets 2025 nickel ore mining quota at around 200 million tonnes

Reuters | January 10, 2025

Indonesia has set a quota of around 200 million metric tons for nickel ore mining this year, a senior mining ministry official said on Friday, adding this could be cut if miners failed to comply with environmental and other rules.


“We have issued around 200 million tons. But if based on their performance evaluation, especially post-mining reclamation and environmental management (not meeting government requirements), we will cut,” said Tri Winarno, director general of mineral and coal at the ministry.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said last week that the Southeast Asian country, one of the world’s biggest producers of nickel products, was reviewing its annual nickel ore mining quota, seeking to prevent further price falls.

The country’s nickel ore output last year was 215 million tons, Tri said.

The government said in November it might punish violations of environmental and other regulations by cutting quotas.

Indonesia last year approved annual nickel ore mining quotas of 240 million metric tons each year until 2026. Bloomberg News reported in December that authorities were considering cutting the quota to 150 million tons to support prices.

LME nickel hits four-year low as 2025 opens with eyes on China

Bloomberg News | January 2, 2025

Nickel hit the lowest level since 2020 and copper steadied near a nine-month low on the first trading day of the year, with investors weighing the impact of a rallying dollar and the scope for additional Chinese stimulus.


Prices for nickel, used in stainless steel and batteries, dropped towards $15,000 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, as the dollar added pressure on industrial metals toward the end of the trading day.

The greenback’s rally came as a weekly reading of US jobless claims dropped to an eight-month low, signaling the ongoing resilience of the nation’s economy. A stronger dollar could hurt buying power for manufacturers in countries like China, where there are already worries about the strength of metals demand.

For the year to come, the market is focused on whether there will be a recovery in China’s embattled property sector, a key demand pillar for metals, as well as the potential impact of trade frictions from Donald Trump’s US presidency. Officials have pledged to use greater public borrowing and spending as well as monetary easing to spur growth in 2025.

Investors are “waiting to see if and when Chinese support measures will feed their way into metals markets in the form of stronger demand,” said Ewa Manthey, a commodities strategist at ING, said by email. “Trump’s tariffs could also trigger bigger stimulus from China, capping the downside for copper prices this year.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping acknowledged new challenges from the external environment in a New Year’s Eve speech on Tuesday. Earlier that day, he said China is on track to meet its official growth target of about 5% for 2024 and the economy is “overall stable.”

The LMEX Index of six metals on the London Metal Exchange closed out 2024 with a modest gain of about 4%, as softer Chinese demand was offset by flashes of supply stress on falling inventories and mine supply shortages.

Nickel was 1.6% lower at $15,090 a ton as of 4:48 p.m. local time on the LME, after earlier hitting $15,055 a ton, the lowest level since November 2020. Copper was 0.4% higher at $8,801.50 a ton, having closed out 2024 at a nine-month low.

Brazilian Nickel advances project financing with LOI for $550m

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Brazilian Nickel announced on Monday that it has received a letter of interest (LOI) from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for a $550 million loan for its Piauí nickel project in Brazil.

Piauí is an advanced-stage nickel laterite heap-leach project with a mineral reserve of 99 million tonnes at grades of 0.84% nickel and 0.05% cobalt. It began production in 2022 at an average production rate of 27,000 tonnes of nickel and 900 tonnes of cobalt per year during the first 10 years of operation.

Brazilian Nickel unveils plans to invest US$1.2bn in Piauí project

Published: Wednesday, August 09, 2023

Brazilian Nickel (BRN) announced details of a 6bn-real (US$1.2bn) investment plan to develop a nickel and cobalt project in Piauí state.

The new unit would produce 25,000t/y of the metal per year, starting in 2026, in addition to 800t/y of cobalt, as from 2027.

The company currently produces 600t of nickel per month at its unit in Capitão Gervásio Oliveira, also in Piauí.

Representatives of Piauí Níquel Metais (PNM), the local subsidiary of BRN Brazilian Nickel, held a meeting this week with Piauí government officials to present details of the project.

“This will change the reality of the region and will put Piauí in the modern mining circuit, all in a sustainable way. A series of requirements and protocols are being looked at by all secretariats so that we can contribute to this growth and the people of Piauí will be the main beneficiaries, with more jobs and income," Piauí state governor Rafael Fonteles said in a statement.

The company has around 400 workers at its operations, but the new investments will probably create more than 2,000 direct jobs during the construction phase of the new unit, in addition to 800 new employees during the operating phase.

Premium Resources shares jump on Botswana copper-nickel project initial resource

Blair McBride - The Northern Miner | November 27, 2024

An initial estimate for Premium Resources’ (TSXV: PREM) past-producing Selkirk project in eastern Botswana outlines 44.2 million inferred tonnes grading 0.3% copper and 0.24% nickel, the company reported Wednesday. Shares gained 11.5%. The resource also includes 0.55 gram palladium per...

abonnés

Indonesia’s Jan-Oct nickel ore imports surge by 50 times from year ago

Reuters | November 15, 2024

Indonesia’s imports of nickel ore surged to 9.3 million metric tons in the first ten months of 2024, more than 50 times the corresponding figure of 161,917 tons for the year earlier period, the statistics bureau said on Friday.


The world’s biggest nickel producer has bought record volumes of the ore from the Philippines since April as smelter demand rose and Jakarta delayed the issue of mining quotas with heavy rains hurting mining activity, Reuters reported.

Alexander Barus, chief executive officer at nickel-focused Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, said the imports were ‘a rational business decision’ made by owners and management of domestic smelters.

“Domestic ore supply is lower than demand that reached 200 million tons per year for all specifications. Maybe because of the delay in nickel RKAB issuance,” Barus said, referring to the quotas.

Imports of nickel ore during January to October mostly came from the Philippines and China, for a total value of $406 million, up from $7.1 million a year earlier.

Indonesia changed the way it issued mining quotas this year, which affected nearly all miners in the resource-rich country. In June, authorities said they had issued 240 million metric tons of output quotas for the next three years.

However, ore shortages seemed to have continued later into the year. Top nickel producer China’s Tsingshan has cut its Indonesia ferronickel output because of ore shortage, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters in September.

Indonesian authorities have defended the nickel ore quota, saying volumes approved were more than enough for smelters.

GEM, PT Vale Indonesia partner for $1.4bn nickel HPAL project
The nickel facility will produce 60,000 tonnes (t) of contained nickel in mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) annually, critical for energy storage system (ESS) batteries.

November 12, 2024

Chinese battery metal producer GEM has signed a project investment cooperation framework agreement with PT Vale Indonesia, the Indonesian unit of the Brazilian mining company Vale, to establish a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) facility in the central Sulawesi province of Indonesia.

The $1.4bn nickel processing facility is designed to produce at least 60,000t of contained nickel in MHP annually, a key component for ESS batteries.

The plant will adhere to zero-carbon and intelligent design principles.

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Canada Nickel Intersects Massive Sulphide at Bannockburn Project

Provided By Canada Nickel Company Inc. November 5, 2024

Highlights

- First massive sulphide drilled by Canada Nickel in Timmins Nickel District
- Intersects 3.9 metres of massive sulphide within 12.7 metres of mineralization

Huayou seeks $2.7 billion for Ford-backed Indonesia nickel plant

Bloomberg News | November 7, 2024

Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., one of the world’s largest nickel producers, is sounding out banks for roughly $2.7 billion in financing for its Ford Motor Co.-backed project in Indonesia, according to people familiar with the matter.


HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc are arranging the loan and inviting other banks to participate in financing the Chinese company’s battery-nickel facility in Southeast Sulawesi, said the people who asked not to be named as the information is private.

Huayou partnered on the project with Ford and miner PT Vale Indonesia to make battery-grade nickel for electric vehicles. Indonesia accounts for more than half of global nickel output and has been aggressively wooing foreign investment in its domestic processing industry over the last decade or so.

Huayou, HSBC, and Standard Chartered did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The fundraising comes as benchmark nickel prices trade near a four-year low amid weaker demand from the stainless steel market and slower-than-expected growth in the EV sector.

The Pomalaa plant, would use ‘high-pressure acid leaching’ technology, or HPAL, to make the nickel chemicals known as mixed hydroxide precipitate, from low-grade ores. It is expected to have annual nickel output of 120,000 tons, which would make it one of the biggest HPAL projects in the Southeast Asian country.

The total investment amount for the project would be about $3.8 billion, Huayou said in a filing last December. Huayou has a 73.2% stake, while Vale has 18.3%, and Ford has an initial 8.5% holding with an option to raise it to 17% within an agreed timeframe.

Huayou said last year construction of the Pomalaa plant would require about three years. It has not provided an updated timeline but said earlier this year preliminary work had been carried out on the project.

En Nouvelle-Calédonie, le berceau de l'industrie mondiale du nickel ferme ses portes

Boursorama avec AFP •14/10/2024

La Société Le Nickel va "mettre en sommeil" son centre minier de Thio, dévasté par les exactions liées à la mobilisation contre le dégel du corps électoral qui a dégénéré en émeutes début mai, a annoncé lundi sa direction.

Quelque 230 salariés travaillaient sur les trois mines encore exploitées de la commune de la côte Est, dont l’histoire est étroitement liée à l’industrie minière.

C’est là qu’en 1875, le tout premier minerai de nickel a été extrait, donnant naissance à une industrie aujourd’hui en pleine mutation. La SLN y est née 5 ans plus tard, en 1880, et n'avait jamais interrompu son activité sur place, même pendant les graves troubles des années 1980, dont Thio était l’épicentre.

Mais cette fois, la SLN estime être "contrainte d'engager la mise en sommeil de ses sites de Thio, du fait de l’empêchement absolu et durable d'y accéder et d'exploiter les mines", écrit le directeur général de l’entreprise, Guillaume Kurek, dans un courrier adressé aux salariés et consulté par l’AFP.

Les dégâts subis à Thio par la SLN au cours des exactions qui ont touché la Nouvelle-Calédonie à partir de début mai sont conséquents : le convoyeur qui permettait de charger les minéraliers a été entièrement détruit par un incendie, de même que des laboratoires, des bureaux et maisons d'employés. Le matériel minier, pelles, chargeuses, camions ont eux aussi été incendiés, détruits ou volés, entraînant "une impossibilité pure et simple d’opérer", précise la SLN, qui pointe également du doigt "les blocages, menaces, et intrusions répétées".

En plus des 230 salariés, 120 emplois de sous-traitance, qui représentaient selon l’entreprise 31 millions d’euros de contrats annuels, sont menacés.

"La SLN, c'est 140 ans de la vie de Thio. Apprendre une nouvelle pareille, ça n'a rien de réjouissant", a réagi Jean-Patrick Toura, le maire de la commune, auprès de l’AFP. "Toute l'économie, nos magasins, nos marchés dépendent de la mine".

Les violences qui ont touché la Nouvelle-Calédonie ont eu des conséquences particulièrement désastreuses sur l’industrie du nickel, déjà en grande difficulté bien avant le 13 mai, date du début des troubles.

La concurrence exacerbée de l’Indonésie a contraint de nombreux géants du secteur à mettre en sommeil mines et sites métallurgiques, notamment en Australie. En Nouvelle-Calédonie, cette crise est aggravée par un coût élevé de l'électricité, dont la métallurgie est très consommatrice. Fin août, faute de repreneur, l’usine du Koniambo Nickel SAS, dans le nord du territoire, a été contrainte de fermer ses portes, laissant 1.700 salariés sur le carreau.

La SLN est elle aussi dans le rouge et son actionnaire majoritaire, le groupe français Eramet a indiqué à plusieurs reprises ne plus vouloir financer sa filiale.*

Canada Nickel files Crawford project’s federal impact statement

Cecilia Jamasmie | October 3, 2024


The Crawford project is expected to begin production in 2027. (Image courtesy of Canada Nickel.)

Canada Nickel (TSX-V: CNC) (OTCQX: CNIKF) has taken a key step toward advancing its flagship Crawford nickel sulphide project in northern Ontario, kicking off the process of submitting of a federal impact statement.


The logging of the document, which the company expects to complete within the next six weeks, outlines the project’s potential environmental, social and economic impacts. It also includes mitigation measures to address any potential negative impact, asserting the company’s commitment to responsible mining practices.

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The assessment is a critical requirement for obtaining federal permits, which Canada Nickel is targeting to secure by 2025.

The Crawford project is expected to begin production in 2027, positioning the company as a key player in supplying the minerals needed for a low-carbon economy.

The proposed operation will consist of two open pits complemented by an on-site mill, to be completed in two phases to allow for throughput ramp-up, the feasibility study showed. Total capital cost for the two phases is estimated at $3.5 billion.

Over a 41-year project life, total metal production is calculated at 3.54 billion lb. of nickel, 52.9 million lb. of cobalt, 490,000 oz. of palladium and platinum, 58 million tonnes of iron, and 6.2 million lb. of chromium.

Peak production at Crawford nickel mine is expected in year 11, when autonomous trucks and remotely operated shovels are fully integrated into the operation.

Canada Nickel has the backing of top players in the mining and batteries markets, including South Korea’s Samsung SDI. The Toronto-based miner has also attracted the interest of Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX, NYSE: AEM), Canada’s largest gold producer, which now owns 12% of the company.

Chief executive Mark Selby emphasized the importance of stakeholder collaboration, noting that input from Indigenous Nations, local communities, government agencies, and experts was central to shaping the document.

“We’re grateful for the strong partnerships we’ve built with Indigenous Nations and community stakeholders, whose contributions have been essential in shaping the submission,” Selby said. “Their input helped ensure the project aligns with our shared values of sustainability and regional economic growth.”

As global demand for critical minerals increases, the Crawford project is expected to play an important role in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Nickel, in particular, is a key component in the production of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), making Canada Nickel project’s progress crucial to meeting rising global demand.

Crawford hosts one of the world’s largest resources of the battery metal, totalling 2.46 billion tonnes at 0.24% nickel for 13.3 billion pounds of contained nickel, according to its feasibility study. This pegged the project’s after-tax net present value (8% discount) at $2.6 billion and internal rate of return at 18.3%.