Defense Metals Corp. announced results for an additional two diamond drill holes totaling 189 metres from the Company's 29 hole, 5,349 metre diamond drill program completed during fall 2021. Drill holes WI21-45 through WI21-48 were collared from the same site and within the northern area of the Wicheeda Rare Earth Element (REE) deposit.

Drill hole WI21-49 returned 3.79% TREO (total rare earth oxide) over 150 metres; including 4.77% TREO over 60 metres1. The drill hole was designed to further delineate at depth drill holes WI21-33 and WI21-40 that in conjunction with WI21-49 represent the three high grade x width intercepts of the 2021 drilling to date. Together these three drill holes define a newly discovered zone of high-grade REE mineralization that occurs below both the current mineral resource and resource pit shells.

The company continues to receive additional assay results from the 2021 Wicheeda REE Deposit resource expansion and delineation campaign that will be released in the coming weeks. Delineation drill holes WI21-49 (-70o dip /190o azimuth) expanded and further delineated broad intervals of REE mineralized dolomite-carbonatite intersected in drill holes WI21-33 and WI21-40, yielding 3.79% TREO over 150 metres; including 4.77% TREO over 60 metres1 that extends 80 metres beyond the current mineral resource and 40 metres beyond the constraining pit shell. This higher-grade interval includes 12 metres averaging 8.06% TREO1 from 84 to 96 metres downhole, which contained the high single (3 metre) combined neodymium-praseodymium (Nd-Pr) oxide assay value to date on the Wicheeda Project of 1.41% Nd-Pr Oxide at 10% TREO.

Drill holes WI21-50 (-50o dip /215o azimuth) and WI21-48 (-60o dip /280o azimuth) established the northwest margin of the Wicheeda Deposit in the near surface intercepting a broad mixed syenite and xenolithic carbonatite interval above resource cut-off grade averaging 1.60% TREO over 127metres; including a higher-grade interval of 3.34% TREO over 35 metres1. 2.50% TREO over 176 metres; including 6.14% TREO over 20 metres1 from surface. The 100% owned 2,008-hectare Wicheeda REE Property, located approximately 80 km northeast of the city of Prince George, British Columbia, is readily accessible by all-weather gravel roads and is near infrastructure, including power transmission lines, the CN railway, and major highways.

The Wicheeda REE Project yielded a robust 2021 PEA that demonstrated an after-tax net present value (NPV@8%) of $517 million, and 18% IRR3. A unique advantage of the Wicheeda REE Project is the production of a saleable high-grade flotation-concentrate. The PEA contemplates a 1.8 Mtpa (million tonnes per year) mill throughput open pit mining operation with 1.75:1 (waste:mill feed) strip ratio over a 19 year mine (project) life producing and average of 25,423 tonnes REO annually.

A Phase 1 initial pit strip ratio of 0.63:1 (waste:mill feed) would yield rapid access to higher grade surface mineralization in year 1 and payback of $440 million initial capital within 5 years.