Rio Tinto Increases Its Shareholding in Talon Metals
Tamarack, Minnesota and Road Town, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2021) - Talon Metals Corp. (TSX: TLO) ("Talon" or the "Company") has completed the next phase of its agreement with Rio Tinto to become the majority owner and operator of the Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project ("Tamarack Nickel Project"), located in central Minnesota. The Tamarack Nickel Project is currently the only known undeveloped high-grade nickel deposit in the United States.
In accordance with a November 2018 agreement between a subsidiary of Talon and a subsidiary of Rio Tinto that established a number of milestones for Talon to earn up to a 60% total interest in the Tamarack Nickel Project, Talon has completed a stock-based transaction to earn a 51% interest in the Tamarack Nickel Project. Under the agreement, Talon had until March 2022 to pay US$5 million to Rio Tinto to complete the 51% ownership interest in the Tamarack Nickel Project. Talon has elected to accelerate the transaction, and rather than receiving US$5 million in cash, Rio Tinto has agreed to accept 10,543,333 units of Talon (the "Units") at a deemed issuance price of C$0.60 per Unit in full satisfaction of this obligation. Each Unit shall be comprised of one common share of Talon and one-half of one purchase warrant (each whole purchase warrant a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire a Talon share for a period of one year at an exercise price C$0.80 per share. Going forward, Talon will have until March 2026 to earn an additional 9% interest in the Tamarack Nickel Project (for a total 60% interest).
"The Talon team is very proud to have reached this milestone and become the majority partner in the Tamarack Nickel Project," said Henri van Rooyen, CEO of Talon. "We are also grateful for our strong partnership with Rio Tinto, who has contributed tremendous value to the progress of the Tamarack Nickel Project. The Tamarack Nickel Project will be a vital source of nickel and other critical minerals for the US battery supply chain and we are pleased to continue our partnership with Rio Tinto to advance the project from exploration to production."
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/97701