Talon Metals Corp (TSE:TLO) released new metallurgical testing results on Monday that confirm the option to use nickel concentrates from its flagship Tamarack project for the high-value electric vehicle or stainless steel markets.
In a statement, the junior company said that flotation optimization was conducted on a composite grading 1.6% nickel and nearly 1% copper, adding that a recently completed Locked Cycle Flotation Test (LCT) produced a nickel concentrate grading 10.8% nickel and 1.2% copper and a copper concentrate grading 29.9% copper and 1.1% nickel.
Talon told shareholders that the concentrate grades will be “attractive” for both pyrometallurgical processing in nickel and copper smelters and for hydrometallurgical treatment of the nickel concentrates for producing a nickel sulphate.
READ: Talon Metals launches new drill program at Tamarack nickel-copper-cobalt project in Minnesota
"The robustness of the simplified flowsheet has now been confirmed, and the process has proven to be capable of treating the entire indicated and inferred resource at the Tamarack Project with excellent results,” Oliver Peters, Talon’s consulting metallurgist said in a statement.
Talon has begun a hydrometallurgical flowsheet development with the goal of producing nickel sulphates in the US, Peters added.
The firm is hoping to establish an integrated battery nickel sulphate complex at Tamarack to tap into US and European demand for metals from electric vehicle manufacturers.
"Global nickel sulphide concentrate production is expected to continue its downward trend: High-grade nickel-copper discoveries have all but dried up while existing nickel sulphide mines continue to be depleted,” Talon CEO Henri van Rooyen told shareholders.
“At the same time, smelting and refining facilities require a baseline throughput to cover fixed costs. We therefore expect clean Tamarack nickel concentrates, that could be blended with more challenging concentrates, to be in exceptionally high demand irrespective of the EV market growth.”
Shares of Talon rose 9.1% in Toronto on Monday afternoon at C$0.24.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
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