Proposed Minnesota nickel mine begins environmental review, would supply Tesla if approved, 21 June
Inflation Reduction Act critical mineral subsidy UPDATE!

Talon Metals Corp. filed papers with Minnesota regulators Wednesday to launch the environmental review process for its proposed underground nickel mine near the northern town of Tamarack, which would supply nickel to Tesla for electric car batteries.

The Department of Energy has already given the project a $114 million grant to build an ore processing plant in North Dakota, part of the Biden administration's efforts to boost domestic production of nickel, lithium, and other metals needed for electric vehicles and the FIGHT against climate change.

That funding contrasts with the administration's efforts to kill another proposed mining project in northern Minnesota, the Twin Metals copper-nickel mine near Ely, which is just upstream from the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness. And the federal government earlier this month raised a new obstacle to the separate NewRange Copper Nickel mine near Babbitt when the [US] Army Corps of Engineers revoked a crucial water quality permit.

< wipes tears >

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy said in a statement that the U.S. would be better off boosting recycling to secure its nickel and other metal supplies.

"green metallurgy"

"We are being asked to trust in mining practices that have not been proven safe elsewhere," the [Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe] tribal government says on its website, "and we are not willing to risk our lands, people or culture as part of a safety experiment for corporate gain."
[...]
Talon Metals is a joint venture with the Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation, which has long been criticized by environmental and indigenous groups around the world. Talon has an agreement with Tesla to supply 75,000 metric tons (165 million pounds) of nickel concentrate and smaller quantities of cobalt and iron from the mine over six years once it goes into commercial production.
[...]
The review process historically takes several years, at least. The [Minnesota] DNR [Dept. of Natural Resources] launched a website on Wednesday outlining what Talon will face. But Talon is hoping the mine's design [strategy] will speed things up enough so that it can begin production for Tesla in 2027.