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Drilling at a rare earth project northeast of Prince George has returned a set of wide, consistent intercepts that could help move more of the resource into a higher confidence category. Defense Metals Corp. (OTCQB: DFMTF, TSXV: DEFN) announced assay results from the first 11 holes of its 2026 program at the Wicheeda Rare Earth Project, with all holes intersecting mineralization inside the pit outline used in its 2025 preliminary feasibility study. The most talked-about interval came from hole WI26-96, which returned 2.86% total rare earth oxide, or TREO, over 65 metres, including a sharper 6.15% TREO over 20.3 metres.
Other holes added breadth to the picture. Hole WI26-93 cut 1.70% TREO over 184 metres, with a stronger 2.52% TREO over 57 metres nested inside that wider zone. Two holes drilled from a setup to the northwest, WI26-100 and WI26-102, also reported meaningful grades. WI26-100 averaged 2.40% TREO over 85 metres from surface within a broader 1.55% TREO zone spanning 149 metres, while WI26-102 returned 3.25% TREO over 34.3 metres inside a 73.4-metre interval averaging 2.62% TREO. Company geologists note that the true thickness of the mineralization is likely between 70% and 100% of the drilled lengths, which means the economic widths could be somewhat narrower but still substantial.
The 2026 campaign is larger than this first batch of results suggests. The full program includes 31 core holes totalling 5,345 metres, split among resource upgrade and infill drilling, pit slope geotechnical work, and waste rock geochemical testing. The resource drilling, which accounts for 20 holes and 3,136 metres, is aimed at converting a significant portion of inferred tonnes to the indicated category within the current pit design. Today’s release covers 10 of those resource holes plus one geotechnical hole, with assays for the remaining 10 resource holes still in progress at ALS Canada laboratories in Vancouver and expected in the coming weeks.
Why this matters for a general business reader is that rare earth elements are not priced like gold or copper. They are a group of 17 metals used in magnets, electronics, defence systems, and clean energy technologies, and their value depends heavily on the mix of elements and the cost to extract and separate them. TREO is a shorthand for the sum of the main rare earth oxides in a sample. Consistent grades over wide intervals inside a planned open pit can support more stable mine planning and processing concepts, which is why companies pursue infill drilling before committing to larger studies.
The Wicheeda deposit sits in a policy tailwind. In mid August, Natural Resources Canada invited Defense Metals to submit a full project proposal for a concentrator and hydrometallurgical feasibility program, with up to $23 million (C$32 million) in potential support under federal critical minerals programs, though the invitation is not a commitment and any award would depend on a negotiated contribution agreement. The stated aim is to help close a midstream processing gap in Canada by advancing pilot-scale work toward feasibility readiness for rare earth separation.
There are still several steps between drill results and a mine. The 2025 preliminary feasibility study is an early-stage economic snapshot that relies on assumptions about metallurgy, costs, and market conditions, and the company notes that additional studies, permitting, and financing would be required before any production decision. Investors and observers watching this story will likely focus on the pending assay releases, any update to the resource model, progress on the federal proposal, and how the project’s geology and processing path line up with the broader push to build North American rare earth supply chains.
