Roundtable with Todd Malan

On Friday, 9 June 2023, the Perth USAsia Centre was honoured to host a roundtable discussion with Todd Malan, Chief External Affairs Officer and Head of Climate Strategy at Talon Metals.

Talon is a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed (TSX:TLO) metals explorer that is currently developing the only high-grade nickel deposit in the United States, in central Minnesota.

Mr Malan and roundtable participants from government, industry and academia discussed recent US progress on developing critical minerals, which are vital to producing clean energy technologies.

The participants explored new support for mining, processing and associated manufacturing activity in recent US legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act.

They also discussed opportunities for US-Australian critical minerals partnership under the new Climate, Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact.

The compact promises to make bilateral action on climate action—including development of critical minerals and clean energy supply chains—a “new pillar” of the US-Australian alliance.

President Biden has made an associated pledge to reform the US Defense Production Act so that it can invest in Australia.

As well as opportunities, attendees addressed challenges for future critical minerals development, including skills shortages and market over-concentration in China.

Prior to joining Talon, Mr Malan worked at Rio Tinto for eight years and served on the board of the American-Australian Association for seven years.