Homeland Nickel, a Canadian company pursuing a nickel mine near Gold Beach, has signed an agreement with a U.S. refiner to buy nickel from the site if the mine opens.
The deal gives the proposed Red Flat mine a buyer, but years of feasibility studies and environmental reviews remain before mining could begin. Westwin Elements, the buyer, plans to build a full-scale refinery.
In a statement, Homeland said Westwin would buy roughly 20,000 metric tons of nickel concentrate a year under the agreement.
Homeland holds about 2,000 acres of mining claims at Red Flat, on federal land in the mountains about nine miles southeast of Gold Beach.
Red Flat is one of nine nickel properties Homeland holds in Southern Oregon. President and CEO Steve Balch said he estimates the properties together contain enough nickel to support mining for 50 to 60 years.
While the deal moves things forward, feasibility studies and environmental reviews still lie ahead. Balch said those would include studies of plant species, water drainage, and cultural or historical sites on the claims.
"These things would all have to be studied, and that's not something that you do in one year," Balch said.
Homeland also said exploration nearly 20 years ago identified cobalt at Red Flat, but the previous resource estimate did not disclose the metal.
“At the time, it wasn't thought to have been of economic importance, and so it was never published in the original resource estimate,” Balch said. “But we have all that data, so in our updated resource, we're adding cobalt to the nickel in terms of the two payables that the project would yield.”
Balch said the cobalt could increase the project's gross revenue by as much as 15%.
Homeland expects to finish an updated estimate of the site's nickel resources in November and a preliminary economic analysis in the first half of 2027.
