AUSTIN, Texas. – Auto-maker Tesla signed a deal to buy $1.5 billion of nickel, which it needs for electric-car batteries, from a yet-to-be opened nickel mine at Tamarack in Minnesota’s Arrowhead. The mine, 55 miles west of Duluth would be developed by Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and Talon Metals of Tamarack. If all goes according to plan, the mine would be in production in 2026. The permitting process has yet to begin. Other mining projects in the region have run into major obstacles from Minnesota environmentalists and tribal governments.
World nickel supply
The deal calls for Texas-based Tesla to buy 75,000 tons of Tamarack nickel over six years. The Minnesota mine would be Tesla’s largest source of nickel. Other sources are Prony Resources in New Caledonia, 42,000 tons, ad BHP in Australia, 18,000 tons.
Exploratory drilling at Tamarack. The mine historically produced copper, but the possibility of nickel production has been realized only lately.