Retired North Dakota coal mine to become $365 million nickel processing plant

Minnesota-based Talon Metals will convert the shuttered Beulah Mine into the nation’s second nickel processing plant, with operations expected by late 2028. The $365 million facility, supported by $115 million in federal infrastructure funding, will process nickel concentrate for batteries and has a contract to supply 75,000 metric tons to Tesla over six years. The project aims to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign critical minerals and will create about 150 jobs in Beulah, population 3,000. Talon plans to source nickel from its proposed Tamarack Mine in Minnesota’s Iron Range, though that project still faces environmental permitting challenges. The facility represents part of a broader push to establish domestic battery supply chains for national security and clean energy applications.