More BIG News after Market Close 📈. Jump in Resource 98%
Talon increases Tamarack NI 43-101 indicated resource
2022-10-19 17:31 ET - News Release
Mr. Henri van Rooyen reports
U.S. BATTERY SUPPLY CHAIN: TALON METALS ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT INCREASE TO MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE AT TAMARACK NICKEL PROJECT
Talon Metals Corp. has updated its mineral resource estimate for the Tamarack nickel project located in central Minnesota.
The total indicated mineral resource estimate now stands at approximately 8.56 million tonnes grading 1.73 per cent nickel plus byproducts (2.34 per cent nickel equivalent) containing 148,000 tonnes of nickel (see attached tables). This represents a 98-per-cent increase in the amount of contained nickel (in the indicated category) compared with the company's previous indicated mineral resource estimate (preliminary economic assessment No. 3) (1). The total inferred resource estimate, which is in addition to the total indicated mineral resource, is now at approximately 8.46 million tonnes grading 0.83 per cent nickel plus byproducts (1.19 per cent NiEq) containing 70,000 tonnes of nickel (see attached tables).
The high-grade massive sulphide (MSU) or mixed massive sulphide (MMS) now stands at 1.05 million tonnes grading 4.53 per cent nickel plus byproducts (5.76 per cent NiEq) (in the indicated category) (see attached table), containing 47,000 tonnes of nickel. This represents a 570-per-cent increase in the amount of contained nickel (MSU/MMS) compared with PEA No. 3.
The mineral resource update also sets out the estimated amount of recoverable iron (Fe in sulphides) given this is a payable byproduct under the Tesla-Talon agreement entered into on Jan. 7, 2022 (see attached table). Nonetheless, to be conservative, the company has excluded the iron (Fe in sulphides) from its calculation of nickel equivalent (NiEq).
A significant portion of the increase in the company's updated mineral resource estimate is attributable to Talon's recent discoveries and exploration success in the shallow, high-grade CGO East and CGO West exploration areas. Drilling outside of the updated mineral resource area is already under way, as Talon continues to work to further expand the mineral resource.
"During the successful discovery and delineation of the high-grade nickel CGO East and CGO West orebodies, our team of drillers, geophysicists, geologists, engineers and environmental scientists developed a proprietary advanced exploration system (AES), which is a unique combination of equipment and methods for deployment along the 11-mile Tamarack intrusive complex and in Michigan," said Henri van Rooyen, chief executive officer of Talon Metals. "The 11-mile Tamarack intrusive complex and Michigan represent extremely prospective and underexplored high-grade nickel districts, primarily due to a lack of the consistent deployment of tailor-made mineral exploration technologies. The AES is to U.S. Midcontinent Rift nickel discovery and delineation what Tesla is to [electric vehicles] -- a revolution in successful innovation and deployment."
Todd Malan, chief external affairs officer and head of climate strategy at Talon, commented: "The upgraded resource at the Tamarack nickel project combined with our acquisition of mineral rights in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and our partnership with Fleet Technologies to use their satellite technology to expedite the discovery of more high-grade nickel in the Lake Superior region are all part of Talon's strategy to become a domestic supplier of nickel and other critical ingredients to the U.S. battery supply chain." Mr. Malan continued: "Selection of our battery minerals processing facility for $114.8-million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) by the Department of Energy is a strong signal that the United States intends to harness its own mineral resources like the nickel, iron, cobalt and copper in the Lake Superior region to become 'mineral independent.' There is a clear bipartisan consensus that we must end America's dependence on China, Russia and other foreign sources for the raw materials required in the energy transition that is required to address climate change. Responsible domestic mining and battery recycling are the solution."
Talon will file an updated technical report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101), which will include the material increases to the mineral resource estimate, within 45 days. In addition, once a location for the battery minerals processing facility in North Dakota has been finalized (see the company's press release dated Oct. 19, 2022), and inputs, operating costs and construction estimates have been determined, Talon plans to update the economic parameters, including cut-off grade, in respect of the Tamarack nickel project.
Significant increase in mineral resource at the Tamarack nickel project
The updated and significantly increased independent mineral resource estimate is largely the result of Talon's successful 2021-2022 development and deployment of Talon's advanced exploration system (AES) that enables Talon to rapidly conduct in-house exploration programs at the Tamarack nickel project. Talon's AES resulted in two new high-grade nickel-copper discoveries, known as the high-grade CGO East and CGO West areas. These newly discovered mineralized zones lie north of the company's previous mineral resource area. The shallow, high-grade mineralization found within the CGO East and CGO West areas not only provide for growth in the size of the mineral resource (and ultimately resulted in the Tesla-Talon supply agreement) but is also expected to result in an accelerated development pathway for an underground mine.
Talon's AES consists of a unified set of technologies assembled and operated safely and in an environmentally responsible manner by the company's in-house team of drillers, geophysicists, geologists, engineers and environmental scientists. It is the synergy of Talon's interdisciplinary teams and technologies -- from multiple surface detection methods that can cover large areas to rapidly drilling anomalies, conducting downhole surveys, assessing drilled core and then leveraging the combined data within days instead of months to plot the next drill holes -- that makes Talon's AES extremely efficient at identifying nickel deposits with strong prospects for economic extraction.
Talon's AES is presently deployed to the north of the present mineral resource area, with a plan for drilling to the south of the mineral resource area during the winter period. Additionally, Talon is preparing for deployment of its AES in Michigan. Talon's Michigan rollout will consist of the use of new and innovative surface geophysical techniques on the back of the company's geological team's unique understanding of prospective, high-grade nickel targets. Additionally, the company's expanded drilling capabilities will be utilized to rapidly drill preidentified targets as well as new targets followed by the use of cross-hole seismic and selective borehole electromagnetic surveys (geophysics).
Through this well-planned deployment of Talon's unique AES, Talon is poised to become the U.S. solution to onshoring nickel concentrate production for a U.S. battery nickel and battery iron supply chain that will be leading in effectiveness, cost and environmental responsibility.
The updated mineral resources are derived from a Datamine constructed block model with a block size of five metres by five m by five m for the lower and upper semi-massive sulphide unit (LSMSU and USMSU) and the 138 mixed zone (138 zone), and a block size of 2.5 m by 2.5 m by 2.5 m for the massive sulphide unit (MSU) and the coarse-grained peridotite domains (CGO West and CGO East).
All domains utilized the Datamine RM unfold process and had top cuts applied to restrict outlier assay values (Ni, copper, cobalt, platinum palladium and/or gold). The eight domains utilized either ordinary kriged or inverse distance methodology to interpolate grades (nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd) and gold (Au) from either 1.0-metre or 1.5-metre composited drill holes. Density estimates were based on specific gravity measurements, and, where absent, regression formulas were applied.
The mineral resources reported are based on blocks above a 0.5-per-cent Ni cut-off basis, and were then examined visually by Golder and found to have reasonable continuity suitable for underground selective and bulk mining methods. The proportion of Fe in sulphides was calculated stoichiometrically from pyrrhotite and pentlandite, using some basic mineralogical assumptions.
Quality assurance, quality control and qualified person
The qualified person, as such term is defined in NI 43-101, who prepared the mineral resource estimate presented in this news release is Brian Thomas, PGeo, who is a geologist independent of Talon and a principal resource geologist at Golder Associates Ltd. Mr. Thomas has reviewed and approved the technical information relating to the mineral resource estimate in this news release, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying such information, and reviewed and verified the QA/QC procedures used at the Tamarack nickel project. Roger Jackson, PGeo, an independent QP and employee of Golder, has visited the site, and found the drilling, geological logging and sampling, and sample shipments to be consistent with the CIM (Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum) mineral exploration best practice guidelines (2018). Mr. Jackson constructed the mineral resource models used for this mineral resource estimate following the CIM estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves best practice guidelines (2019).
Dr. Etienne Dinel, vice-president, geology, of Talon, is a qualified person within the meaning of NI 43-101, and, other than the mineral resource estimate, is responsible for the technical information presented in this news release, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the technical information. Dr. Dinel is satisfied that the analytical and testing procedures used are standard industry operating procedures and methodologies.
Where used in this news release, NiEq per cent equals Ni per cent plus Cu per cent multiplied by $3.75 divided by $9.50 plus Co per cent multiplied by $25.00 divided by $9.50 plus Pt (gram per tonne) divided by 31.103 multiplied by $1,000 divided by $9.50 divided by 22.04 plus Pd (g/t) divided by 31.103 multiplied by $1,000 divided by $9.50 divided by 22.04 plus Au (g/t) divided by 31.103 multiplied by $1,400 divided by $9.50 divided by 22.04. Dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars. Fe is not included in the NiEq calculation.
Please see the company's technical report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) #3 of the Tamarack Nickel Project - Tamarack Minnesota," with an effective date of Jan. 8, 2021, for information on the QA/QC, analytical and testing procedures at the Tamarack project. The laboratory used for geochemical sample assay analysis is ALS Minerals which is independent of the company.
About Talon Metals Corp.
Talon is a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed base metals company in a joint venture with Rio Tinto on the high-grade Tamarack nickel-copper-cobalt project located in central Minnesota. Talon's shares are also traded in the United States over the OTC market under the symbol TLOFF. 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 per cent of the Tamarack nickel project and currently owns 51 per cent. Talon is focused on: (i) expanding and infilling its current high-grade nickel mineralization resource to shape a mine plan for submission to Minnesota regulators; and (ii) following up on additional high-grade nickel mineralization in the Tamarack intrusive complex. Talon has an agreement with Tesla Inc. to supply it with 75,000 tonnes (165 million pounds) of nickel in concentrate (and certain byproducts, 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.
(1) See the company's technical report prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) #3 of the Tamarack North Project - Tamarack, Minnesota," with an effective date of Jan. 8, 2021.