07:30 AM EST, 01/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Defense Metals ( DFMTF ) said overnight Monday that it expects to release in early February the results of its pre-feasibility study for the Wicheeda rare earths project in British Columbia.

In a letter to shareholders, Executive Chairman Guy de Selliers said the company appointed Hatch to manage the pre-feasibility process and to act as qualified person for the overall study, with the support of SRK and other experts.

According to de Selliers, this gives assurance that this pre-feasibility study will provide reliable numbers to assess the economic potential of our project.

The executive also said that the company is in talks with government-backed research institutions such as Saskatchewan Research Council in Canada and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the U.S. for technical support. It has also applied for grant funding in both countries.

"Recent geopolitical developments and the increasing concerns about the persistent and excessive over-reliance on China for rare earth supplies opens many possibilities for technical cooperation and financial support from industry and government entities," de Selliers said.

While shareholders may be disappointed by the company's performance in the past year, de Selliers expressed confidence that the company will have a "dramatically improved performance in the future."

"I am extremely bullish and I hope that you, as shareholders, will see why and will continue to travel with us on this exciting journey," de Selliers said.

Defense Metals' ( DFMTF ) share price dropped 9.8% yesterday to $0.19 on the TSXV.