Mineral exploration company Talon Metals Corp., through its subsidiary Talon Nickel (USA) LLC, entered into a definitive agreement with Kennecott Exploration Company, which is a subsidiary of the Rio Tinto Group. Pursuant to this agreement, BVI-based Talon Metals has the right to acquire a 30 per cent stake in Kennecott's Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Platinum Project, located in Minnesota, USA, over a 3 year period, by making US$7.5 million in instalment payments to Kennecott, and incurring US$30 million in exploration expenditures. During the earn-in period, Kennecott will continue to be the operator of the Tamarack Project.
The Chairman of Talon Metals Warren Newfield commented on the agreement: "We are fortunate to participate in Kennecott's Tamarack Project… Over the past two years, the Talon team has reviewed and considered more than 700 projects, and we have finally identified a project that could be a company-maker. I would like to thank our shareholders for their patience and dedication. We expect the next three years to be an exciting time for Talon."
The definitive agreement between Talon and Kennecott was concluded after a number of months of due diligence conducted by the Talon team. Following the period of Talon’s earn-in to the Tamarack Project, the US company must either to proceed with this project with Talon as its joint venture participant owning 30 per cent of the Tamarack Project, or grant BVI company’s subsidiary the right to purchase 100 per cent of the Project.
