Defense Metals Corp. announced that Ucore Rare Metals Inc. received and tested a Wicheeda mixed rare earth carbonate sample at its Kingston, Ontario, RapidSX Commercialization and Demonstration Facility. Ucore confirmed that this testing of the MREC material provides determination of its suitability as an MREC product for commercial-scale processing with Ucore's RapidSX technology at Ucore's currently under development Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex project in Alexria, Louisiana, and subsequent planned SMCs, including a Canadian facility.

This sample was generated during Defense Metals' 2023 hydrometallurgical piloting test work performed on concentrate produced by earlier flotation pilot plant testing of a 26-tonne bulk sample from Defense Metal's wholly-owned Wicheeda Property in British Columbia. The Wicheeda REE Project, approximately 80 kilometres (~50 miles) northeast of the city of Prince George, is readily accessible by a paved highway and all-weather gravel roads and is close to infrastructure, including hydro power transmission lines and gas pipelines. The nearby Canadian National Railway and major highways allow easy access to the port facilities at Prince Rupert, the closest major North American port to Asia.