What is Defense Metals Corp mission in the automotive industry?
We are a junior mining company and our goal is to provide rare earth compounds to North American and western supply chains. Our main project is in British Columbia where we have the Wicheeda rare earth deposit. Hopefully, in five years' time we will be able to get into production, right in time for the much anticipated mass production of electric vehicles.
Our deposit in Wicheeda is a light rare earth deposit, with good grades of neodymium and praseodymium. These two elements are especially useful in the EV industry as they are used to make permanent magnet motors, which are the most efficient electric motors. Moreover, the Wicheeda project is one of the few in the world from where a 40% mineral concentrate can be produced at relatively high recovery rates, prior to chemical cracking. This high degree of concentration places us in a privileged position across the rare earth mining sector, as it considerably boosts the economics of the project. Finally, Wicheeda is in an excellent location near major infrastructure nodes.
How supportive are current Canadian policies of the mining sector and its specific needs?
Thankfully, the Canadian government is showing support to the critical metals sector, having just issued a $3.8 billion incentive over the next five years. Although permitting usually takes a long time that can span from five to ten years (depending on the type of minerals and the location), officials recognize that it is important to speed up the processes as much as possible. Moreover, as First Nations consultation is extremely important in Canada, we have engaged and signed an exploration development agreement with the First Nations group at Wicheeda. Luckily, our deposit is in an area where the local First Nations is open to business and responsible development. This being said, we feel there is a heightened interest towards our industry, and the more measures are taken to finance projects, prioritize mining permitting and keep the general public and communities inform, the more we can fast track the development of our project.
Which economic sectors do you expect will drive demand for your supply?
As per our name, Defense Metals, the rare earths that we are planning to mine can be used in defense applications (for example in missiles) but also in the automotive industry, in energy (for wind turbines), in agriculture (for fertilizers) and in the medical field (for MRI machines), to name a few applications.
In terms of volume, lanthanum is the most sold rare earths in North America, because it is vital for oil refineries. Consequently, this is yet another sector which we may supply to once in production. But, above all, forecasts show neodymium and praseodymium for applications in the automotive industry will be the main driver of demand for rare earths. However, it is important to note that rare earths metals and magnets are produced in Asia, particularly in China, as such, to build a fully integrated supply chain from mine to manufacturing, the west will have to develop expertise and facilities for rare earths metals, alloys and magnets.
What are the main challenges that Defense Metals need to surpass as it develops?
Besides the long permitting times that affect the mining industry as a whole, we must also take care of the more technical challenges that pertain to our business. Even though we managed to get into the pre-feasibility phase, we have to go into the bankable feasibility stage - which requires us to scale up our metallurgical processes. Given the stage of the development of the company and the risk of developing rare earths projects, we are susceptible to investors being more cautious to fund our efforts. Right now, most of our investors are retail investors but we are being increasingly approached by large investment funds, as well as strategic and industrial investors in the ranks of chemical companies, major mining companies and larger private equity funds.
What fuels your passion for the rare earths mining sector?
The U.S. and the EU have drawn a list of more than 40 critical materials out of which more than half are either produced or processed by China. As the global net zero agenda pushes the demand for rare earths and other critical materials , China is not going to be able to continue to indefinitely supply the word with rare earths and other critical metals, we will need to bring production from other parts of the world such as Africa, South America, Europe or North America. Defense Metals’ Wicheeda project has strong potential to become a major ethical and sustainable source of rare earths in North America.
At a personal level, I am deeply passionate about the development of the critical metals from mine to manufacturing. I am rooting for a more diversified supply and for the opportunities that could help developing nations like those in Africa, South America and Asia/Pacific to industrialize based on greener technologies and build more sustainable economies.
