Defense Metals drills 6% rare earths in BC

Resource-conversion drilling at Defense Metals’ (TSXV: DEFN) Wicheeda rare earths project in British Columbia has returned results as strong as 20.3 metres at 6.1% total rare earth oxides (TREO).

That interval from 61 metres depth in hole WI26-96 was part of 65 metres grading about 3% TREO, the company reported Monday. Another highlight, in hole WI26-93, cut across the southern margin of the Wicheeda deposit, and returned 184 metres grading 1.7% TREO from 91.6 metres depth, including 57 metres at 2.5% TREO.

“We’re exceptionally pleased that all eleven drill holes reported in today’s news release intersected significant widths of high to moderate grade rare earth element mineralization within the pit confines defined by the 2025 preliminary feasibility study and are expected to contribute positively to a resource classification uplift,” Defense Metals’ Vice-President of Projects Robin Jones said.

Advanced project

The results bolster Wicheeda’s potential as one of Canada’s more advanced and accessible projects pursuing rare earths, essential for their use in permanent magnets, defence applications and clean energy technologies. Unlike several of the country’s largest rare earth deposits, which are in remote northern regions, Wicheeda is road-accessible and sits near power, rail and gas infrastructure, about 80 km northeast of Prince George, B.C.

Discounted at 8%, Wicheeda has an after-tax net present value of $1 billion and a post-tax internal rate of return of 19%, with initial capital costs of $1.4 billion, according to a preliminary feasibility study released in February, 2025. It could produce 31,900 tonnes annually of TREO concentrates over a 15-year life, based on proven and probable reserves of 25.4 million tonnes grading 2.43% TREO for about 617,000 tonnes of TREO. 

Additional noteworthy results from the 5,345-metre program were in hole WI26-100, which cut about 149 metres grading 1.55% TREO from near surface, including 85 metres at 2.4% TREO.

Hole WI26-102 returned 73.4 metres grading 2.6% TREO from about 6 metres depth, including 34.3 metres at 3.2% TREO.

$16M backing

Defense secured $16.7 million from private placements last October and November which it plans to use for metallurgical work and for starting a feasibility study. In March, it received conditional approval for up to $1.8 million from Natural Resources Canada’s Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund.

A proposed $346.6 million Export Development Canada loan, announced last year, remains at the non-binding expression-of-interest stage.

Shares of Defense Metals fell about 3% to 15¢ apiece Monday morning in Toronto. That gave the company a market capitalization of about C$61.2 million. The stock has traded in a 12-month range of 11¢ to 43¢.