Published: November 26, 2024 |

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Defense Metals Corp. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) that will benefit both parties by promoting a collaborative and strategic approach to help strengthen the rare earth element (REE) supply chain within Canada.

“We are excited to collaborate with The Saskatchewan Research Council, a recognized leader in rare earth processing and technology development. This MOU represents a significant step forward in our goal of becoming part of a secure and sustainable supply chain for rare earth elements in North America,” said Guy de Selliers, executive chairman of Defense Metals.

“By working together with SRC, we believe we can make substantial progress toward closing the rare earth supply chain loop and ensuring the availability of these critical materials for green energy and defence applications that are essential for national security,” added de Selliers.

The MOU outlines a framework for Defense Metals and SRC to leverage their respective capabilities and interests in the supply and processing of rare earth materials that are especially critical to the production of rare earth magnets.

The proposed objectives of this collaboration include:

• Exploring potential collaborations using each participant’s respective capabilities and interests in the process and supply of rare earth products used in the rare earths magnet value chain.

• Enabling discussions in connection with the separation of the Defense Metal’s mixed rare earth carbonates into separated rare earth oxides employing SRC’s separation technology design, installation, and operational expertise.

• Facilitating negotiations of a long-term agreement with SRC for the sale and purchase of Defense Metal’s mixed rare earth carbonate.

This collaboration aligns with the broader Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, which is focused on developing a domestic industry, reducing reliance on foreign sources of critical minerals and bolstering national security. It supports broader North American goals for economic competitiveness and technological innovation in clean energy and defence technologies.

Defense Metals Corp. is focused on the development of its 100 percent owned Wicheeda REE deposit, for which a mineral resource estimate was reported in 2023 in a technical report. The Wicheeda Project, located approximately 80 kilometers northeast of the city of Prince George on the traditional territory of the McLeod Lake Indian Band in British Columbia, Canada, is readily accessible by a paved highway and all-weather gravel roads. Nearby, superior infrastructure includes hydro power transmission lines, gas pipelines, the Canadian National Railway and major highways that allow easy access to the port facilities at Prince Rupert, the closest major North American port to Asia.

The Saskatchewan Research Council is Canada’s second-largest research and technology organization, providing services and products to its 1,400 clients in 22 countries around the world for more than 77 years. Since 2020, SRC’s Rare Earth Processing Facility in Saskatoon has received $71 million in funding from the Government of Saskatchewan, as well as $30 million in combined funding from the Government of Canada. This funding has been instrumental in helping SRC construct a vertically and laterally integrated minerals to metals facility equipped with state-of-the-art, proprietary technology developed by SRC. Development of the facility continues ahead of schedule, producing rare earth metals at a commercial scale in the summer of 2024 — making Saskatchewan the first and only jurisdiction to do so in North America.

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