Announcement • May 13
Defense Metals Corp Commences Pilot Flotation Test Program For Wicheeda Rare Earth Project
Defense Metals Corp. announced the commencement of a confirmatory pilot flotation plant test program for its Wicheeda Project. The program will be conducted at the SGS Canada Inc. metallurgical facility in Lakefield, Ontario. Defense Metals has engaged SGS Canada Inc. to undertake the pilot flotation program, which is designed to confirm the results of the 2021 pilot plant, further advance metallurgical development, generate flotation concentrate for hydrometallurgical pilot plant work, and support future engineering studies for the Wicheeda Project. The program will utilize approximately 30 tonnes of drill core material from the Wicheeda deposit in two sub-samples representing planned production from years 1 through 5 and year 6 onwards of the PFS mine plan. SGS was selected based on their experience and reputation as the benchmark for quality and integrity in the collaborative design and execution of a pilot plant of this type. The program will be managed on behalf of Defense Metals by chief metallurgical consultant J.R. Goode, P.Eng. Mr. Goode has an extensive career in the design, monitoring, and interpretation of beneficiation and hydrometallurgical test-work and has over 60 years of experience as a metallurgist working on numerous rare earth projects located in Canada, USA, China, Australia, Brazil, Greenland, Russia, and elsewhere. The primary objective of the pilot flotation campaign is to generate a representative rare earth flotation concentrate grading approximately 50% total rare earth oxides. The concentrate produced during the pilot program will be used in a planned downstream hydrometallurgical pilot plant aimed at confirming and optimising the general process conditions of the PFS with the representative concentrate generated from this pilot flotation program. In addition to concentrate production, the continuous pilot-scale operation will generate representative process tailings for downstream testing and characterization. The pilot plant will also confirm metallurgical performance under continuous operating conditions while providing valuable engineering and process design data for future project development activities. To further support engineering design, Defense Metals has engaged Jenike & Johanson to conduct bulk solids handling test work on various production plant process streams using samples generated during the pilot plant operation. The testing is expected to provide important design criteria related to material handling for process plant design. SGS has completed pre-pilot characterization work, including head assays, grindability testing, laboratory-scale flotation testing, and pilot plant setup activities. Pilot plant operations are scheduled to commence on May 12, 2026, and are expected to continue for approximately five weeks. The scientific and technical information contained in this news release as it relates to the Wicheeda Project has been reviewed and approved by John R. Goode, P.Eng., Principal and Consulting Metallurgist at J.R. Goode and Associates Company, and a consultant to the Company, who is a "Qualified Person" as defined in NI 43-101. The Wicheeda Project is one of the most advanced, undeveloped REE deposits in North America or Europe, featuring a robust mineral resource and mining reserve, as detailed in the Company's 2025 Pre Feasibility Study prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The PFS shows the economic potential of the deposit and supports future project development. The PFS for the Wicheeda Rare Earth Element Project is preliminary in nature and includes numerous assumptions regarding metallurgy, capital and operating costs, and market conditions. Mineral reserves and the economic outcomes projected in the PFS are subject to significant uncertainties, and there is no certainty that the results of the PFS will be realized. Additional studies, including a Feasibility Study, and permitting, are required before a production decision can be made for the Wicheeda Project.
