Defense Metals Corp. announced it has commenced Phase 2 of its planned infrastructure and open pit geotechnical drilling. Sonic overburden characterization (site infrastructure geotechnical) and diamond core drilling (open pit geotechnical and near resource exploration) is expected to be complete within 4 to 6 weeks, with results to follow.

The work, with the support of the Defense Metals' technical team and APEX Geoscience Ltd., is being completed by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. ("SRK") one of the principal consultants for the preliminary feasibility study ("PFS") regarding the Company's Wicheeda Rare Earth Element (REE) Project located near Prince George, Canada. As previously reported the SRK geotechnical investigation includes the following scopes: Geotechnical engineering (waste rock, tailings, contact water pond, and site infrastructure geotechnical investigation), Tailings alternative assessment prior to advancing into PFS-level design of a preferred alternative, and Geochemical characterization (to support mine planning/waste management and to develop preliminary water chemistry predictions for the main mine facilities). Currently two rigs, sonic and core drills, are operating at the Project, with sonic operations focused on overburden and bedrock characterization within the potential waste rock storage (WSF) footprint, and geotechnical core drilling underway with the east highwall of the proposed open pit.

With WSF drilling nearing completion, sonic operations are expected to transition to the proposed contact water pond (CWP), and crusher and conveyor footprints, followed by tailing storage facility (TSF) and TSF alternative geotechnical investigations. In pit geotechnical core drilling will progress from current drilling on the east highwall, followed by south, north, and west pit walls. Drilling into the south pit wall is expected to collar in REE mineralized dolomite carbonatite.

In addition, geotechnical core drilling of the west pit wall is co-purposed with testing of a high priority ground radiometric geophysical anomaly with the potential to represent undiscovered carbonatite body.