Tesla has signed a six-year deal with Talon Metals Corp. for a domestic supply of nickel concentrates for their electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
As part of the deal, first reported by Bloomberg, Tesla has agreed purchase 75,000 tonnes of nickel over six years from Talon’s Tamarack mining project in Aitkin County, Minnesota.
That will be enough nickel to make around 525,000 batteries.
The exact financial terms of the deal were not disclosed as the price will be linked to the London Metals Exchange’s cash-settlement price for nickel.
Talon Metals is a joint venture with mining giant Rio Tinto, which commented on the deal on Monday.
“Rio Tinto is working to support Talon to bring the Tamarack mine into production, as we strengthen our battery materials portfolio. We look forward to seeing it supply Tesla with nickel that is essential for the production of their electric vehicles,” Rio Tinto Minerals Chief Executive Officer Sinead Kaufman said in a statement.
According to Reuters, the deal will also involve the purchase of cobalt and iron ore, the amounts of which were not specified.
Last year Tesla signed two deals for an international supply of nickel.
In July Tesla agreed to purchase an unspecified amount of the EV battery mineral from Australia’s BHP.
A few months later in October Tesla agreed to purchase around 42,000 tonnes of nickel in a multi-year deal from New Caledonia.
The deals follow comments from CEO Elon Musk who said in 2020 Tesla would offer a “giant contract for a long period of time” for companies that could mine nickel “efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way.”
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