The 2021 Wicheeda diamond drill program is designed to build on the successes of the 2019 campaign
Defense Metals Announces Plans for 2021 Wicheeda Rare Earth Element Deposit Diamond Drill Program. (Credit: Hands off my tags! Michael Gaida from Pixabay.)
Defense Metals Corp. (“Defense Metals” or the “Company”) (TSXV: DEFN) (OTCQB: DFMTF) (FSE: 35D) is pleased to announce plans to complete a diamond drill campaign during 2021 at its Wicheeda Rare Earth Element (REE) deposit. The Company plans to complete a minimum of 2,000 metres and up to 5,000 metres of diamond drilling designed to expand the deposit and further delineate existing resources.
The road accessible Wicheeda REE Property is located close to infrastructure approximately 80 kilometres northeast of Prince George, British Columbia (BC). The Wicheeda project has indicated mineral resources of 4,890,000 tonnes averaging 3.02% LREO (Light Rare Earth Elements) and inferred mineral resources of 12,100,000 tonnes averaging 2.90% LREO1.
During 2019, the Company completed 13 diamond drill holes totalling 2,005 metres that expanded the Wicheeda deposit to the north, where it remains open, and further delineated the relatively higher-grade, near surface dolomite carbonatite unit within the main southern part of the deposit. The 2019 drill campaign yielded one of the highest grade REE intercepts to date within drill hole WI19-31 that returned 4.43% LREO over 83 metres; including 5.47% LREO over a drill core interval of 33 metres ending in mineralization2, and culminated in the release of the first three-dimensional geological model for the Wicheeda Deposit and a significant increase in mineral resources (see Defense Metals News Release Dated May 13, 2020).
The 2021 Wicheeda diamond drill program is designed to build on the successes of the 2019 campaign and will focus on expanding the zone REE mineralized dolomite-carbonatite to the north, in addition to further delineating existing inferred resources within the central and northwestern areas of the deposit (Figure 1).
Craig Taylor, CEO of Defense Metals, stated: “Defense Metals is pleased to announce its plans to complete further resource expansion and delineation diamond drilling at Wicheeda. Building on the success of our 2019 drill program we see a way forward to expanding the deposit northward, which has the potential to provide additional near surface resources, and to further delineation of existing inferred resources.”
Source: Company Press Release