Talon Metals (TSX: TLO) has made a new copper and nickel discovery in Michigan, near the only operating nickel mine in the United States — Lundin Mining‘s (TSX: LUN) Eagle. Talon’s shares rose nearly 17% following the news.
The company reported nearly 100 metres of copper and nickel mineralization from its first drill hole at the Boulderdash target in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, with a grade of 1.6% copper equivalent, starting at a depth of 9.1 metres. It now plans to add more drill holes for further evaluation.
“The distribution and abundance of magmatic sulphides intersected in the initial drilling at Boulderdash bear a striking resemblance to the early drill results from the Eagle deposit,” Dean Rossell, Talon’s chief exploration geologist said in a news release.
Rossell is credited with discovering the Eagle deposit.
“In 2001, one of the first drill holes intersected a long interval of disseminated sulphides with minor net-textured sulphides, which inspired us to drill the discovery hole in 2002, where we intersected 84.2 metres of high-grade massive sulphide mineralization,” Rossell said.
“US leaders are laser-focused on US dependency on critical minerals produced by foreign entities of concern. The discovery of a potential new domestic resource of copper and nickel is very timely,” CEO Henri van Rooyen added.
Talon’s mineral exploration activities in Michigan and Minnesota are funded by the US Department of Defense, which announced in 2023 that it would provide $20.6 million for accelerated exploration in both states.
Cantor Fitzgerald mining analyst Matthew O’Keefe said in a note to clients that the hole was “impressive” and could be indicative of a larger system, similar to Eagle.
In 2022, Talon entered into an option and earn-in agreement with UPX Minerals to acquire up to 80% ownership in mineral rights over a 1,620-sq.-km land package in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The first hole drilled at Boulderdash is part of this land package.
By 11 a.m. EDT in Toronto, Talon Metals’ shares were up 11%. The Canadian miner has a market capitalization of C$93.5 million ($67.5m).
