Nickel ore processing plant that will supply Tesla strikes deal to spend $115M in federal funds

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Developers of a proposed nickel ore processing plant in North Dakota that would supply electric automaker Tesla have reached a deal with the U.S. Department of Energy on how to spend nearly $115 million the federal agency awarded the project last year. The Bismarck Tribune reports that the agreement was the result of over a year of negotiations to determine how the money would be doled out to Talon Metals. The Biden administration has backed the North Dakota facility to bolster domestic production of critical minerals. It would process ore from Talon’s proposed underground mine near Tamarack in northeastern Minnesota.