Wicheeda is a rare earth element (REE) deposit located in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC). The project is being developed by Defense Metals Corp. The company is a member of the Discovery Group, a coalition of public companies dedicated to promoting the advancement of mineral exploration and mining initiatives.
In February 2025, Defense Metals announced the results of the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for the Wicheeda Project.
The PFS outlines an open-pit mining operation at Wicheeda with an initial capital expenditure is estimated to be $1.4bn.
The project’s reserves are projected to sustain a 15-year Life-of-Mine (LOM), with an average annual output of 31,900 tonnes of Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) in concentrate. This will deliver approximately 5,200 tonnes of TREO in a high-value mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) after the extraction of cerium (Ce) and lanthanum (La).
In April 2025, Defense Metals signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a potential partner for the supply of a significant portion of its planned output.
Wicheeda Deposit Location
The Wicheeda REE deposit lies approximately 80km northeast of Prince George in British Columbia.
The site can be reached by an all-weather gravel road linked to British Columbia Highway 97.
Wicheeda Project Geology and Mineralisation
The REE-enriched carbonatites of the Wicheeda Deposit are part of a northwest-trending, elongate intrusive complex composed of carbonatite and syenite sills. These carbonatites intrude into surrounding rock types including syenite, mafic dykes, limestone, and calcareous sedimentary wall rocks. The deposit itself measures roughly 400m in a north–south direction and between 100 and 250m east–west.
Diamond drilling has revealed a layered sill complex that dips moderately to the north-northeast and plunges shallowly northward. Syenite forms the basal unit, overlain by hybrid rocks ranging from matrix- to clast-supported carbonatite containing xenoliths of limestone or mafic intrusives (fenite). Above these lies the main REE-bearing unit—dolomite-carbonatite—which is exposed at surface. This mineralised sequence is hosted within barren limestone waste rock.
Mineral Reserves
The mineral reserves for the Wicheeda rare earth element (REE) project are based on Measured and Indicated mineral resources identified as economically extractable.
The estimate includes 25.5 million tonnes (Mt) of mineable ore from a single open pit, with an average grade of 2.43% total rare earth oxides (TREO). The reserve figure incorporates variable dilution and assumes a 1% ore loss.
The rock units included in the reserves are dolomite carbonatite, limestone, syenite, and xenolithic carbonatite.
Mineral resources are reported within a pit shell optimised to meet the Reasonable Prospects of Eventual Economic Extraction (RPEEE) criteria.
The total Mineral Resources comprise 29.2Mt of Measured and Indicated material grading 2.27% TREO, and 5.5 Mt of Inferred material grading 1.42% TREO.
Mining and Processing
The Wicheeda rare earth element deposit hosts three main REE-bearing lithologies: dolomite carbonatite (DC), xenolithic carbonatite, and syenite, with limestone as the primary waste rock. Key REE minerals include bastnäsite, monazite, synchysite, and parisite. Their coarse grain size offers metallurgical advantages, improving liberation and flotation efficiency, and supporting the production of a high-grade concentrate averaging 50% TREO.
Planned as an open-pit operation, the project will focus on near-surface, high-grade DC mineralisation during the first eight years of production. Mining rates will range from 4 to 9 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) over a 15-year mine life. Ore will be crushed near the pit and transported by conveyor to a flotation plant processing 1.8 Mtpa. Waste rock will be deposited in a nearby storage facility.
The flotation plant will produce a high-grade REE concentrate through crushing, semi-autogenous and ball milling, followed by staged flotation. Tailings will be filtered and stored in a lined facility west of Wichcika Creek, along with hydrometallurgical residues.
The concentrate will be trucked 45km to Bear Lake for hydrometallurgical and solvent extraction (SX) processing. Acid baking with sulphuric acid at ~300°C will convert REEs to soluble sulphates, followed by leaching and purification. A single SX circuit using acidic extractants in a kerosene-based diluent will separate low-value lanthanum (La) and cerium (Ce), which will be precipitated and stored.
The remaining rare earths, including high-value magnet metals such as praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), terbium (Tb), and dysprosium (Dy)—will be recovered as a mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC). The final product is expected to contain 87% NdPr oxide and 11% heavy rare earth oxides, contributing to the project’s strong economic potential.
Infrastructure
The Wicheeda Project will source power from a new high-voltage transmission line (1L 365) west of the site, which connects to BC Hydro’s 500 kV network.
Site access will be improved through upgrades to an existing forestry road from Bear Lake. The site is currently reachable via an all-weather gravel road linked to British Columbia Highway 97.
The Canadian National Railway (CNR), which runs through Prince George and Bear Lake, will play a key role in supplying plant reagents and consumables. It will also be used for transporting concentrate and by-products. The Port of Prince Rupert, about 500km west and accessible by rail and road, provides export access.
Contractors Involved
The PFS for the Wicheeda Project was conducted by Hatch (Hatch) and SRK Consulting (Canada). (SRK).
