Talon Metals Corp announced that the US Department of Energy (DoE) has awarded US$2.2 million in research and development (R&D) funding to explore the carbon storage potential at its Tamarack Nickel Project in central Minnesota.
The company said joint venture partner Rio Tinto will lead a team of climate innovation and research leaders that will explore new approaches in carbon mineralization technology as a way to safely and permanently store carbon in solid rock form.
Rio Tinto will contribute US$4 million in funding for the three-year project, in addition to the funding from the DoE's ARPA-e Innovation Challenge, Talon added.
READ: Talon Metals hits nickel-copper mineralization outside Tamarack resource area once again, new drill results reveal
Talon noted that carbon mineralization uses natural chemical reactions to convert captured carbon dioxide (CO2) into rock and store it underground. It has the potential to be an important technology in meeting global climate goals and is now being used at a large scale by the world's leading carbon mineralization company Carbfix in Iceland.
Initial studies have shown that the Tamarack Intrusive Complex has the potential to safely and permanently store hundreds of millions of tons of carbon, the company added.
“The team at the Tamarack Nickel Project will include technical experts from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory which has demonstrated carbon mineralization technology in Washington state, Columbia University and CarbFix,” the company said in a statement.
“Talon, the majority owner and operator of the Tamarack Nickel Project, is contributing ore body knowledge and land access for scientific fieldwork.”
Talon is a TSX-listed base metals company in a joint venture with Rio Tinto on the high-grade Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project located in central Minnesota. The Tamarack Nickel Project comprises a large land position (18 kilometres of strike length) with high-grade intercepts outside the current resource area. Talon has an earn-in right to acquire up to 60% of the Tamarack Nickel Project and currently owns 51%.
Talon is focused on expanding and infilling its current high-grade nickel mineralization resource prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 to shape a mine plan for submission to Minnesota regulators, following up on additional high-grade nickel mineralization in the Tamarack Intrusive Complex, and exploring the prospects for significant carbon storage in the ultra-mafic rocks that comprise the Tamarack Intrusive Complex through carbon mineralization.
The company has an agreement with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) to supply it with 75,000 metric tonnes (165 million lbs) of nickel in concentrate (and certain by-products, including cobalt and iron) from the Tamarack Nickel Project over an estimated six-year period once commercial production is achieved. Talon has well-qualified experienced exploration, mine development, external affairs and mine permitting teams.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com