Mr. Alex Heath reports

DEFENSE METALS APPOINTS SUZANNE RICH FOLSOM TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Defense Metals Corp. has appointed Suzanne Rich Folsom to the board of directors of the company.

Ms. Folsom is an experienced independent director, C-suite executive and influential business leader. Most recently, she served as senior vice-president and general counsel at Philip Morris International, where she was a key leader in the company's transformation. Previously she was general counsel, chief compliance officer and senior vice-president, government affairs, at United States Steel Corp., where she also played a pivotal leadership role in that company's transformation as well as helping reinvigorate U.S. Steel's business growth. Throughout her career, Ms. Folsom has been a change agent and catalyst for organizational growth at multiple companies and organizations.

Her career includes senior corporate executive roles at Academi as the executive vice-president, general counsel and chief compliance officer; at AIG as the deputy general counsel and chief regulatory and compliance officer; and at the World Bank, where she was the counsellor to the president and director of the Department of Institutional Integrity. In addition, Ms. Folsom has held distinctive public administration roles, including serving as the private secretary to Queen Noor of Jordan; first family liaison to the presidential inaugural committee; special assistant to Barbara Bush; adviser to the U.S. delegation to the United Nations World Women's Conference in Kenya; and chief of staff to the co-chair of a U.S. national political party; and she practised law with three global law firms. She is a frequent thought leadership contributor and speaker and has been recognized in the United States and abroad for her many contributions. Ms. Folsom holds a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center and a bachelor's degree from Duke University. Previous board service has included the boards of Advanced Metallurgical Group AMG, Velux LLC and Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy. Ms. Folsom currently serves on the boards of the iconic Encyclopedia Britannica, today a global digital media learning and knowledge products company, and Ecore International, a revolutionary leader in rubber circularity and a transformational waste company. She is also an adviser to EqualFuture LLC, an AI-assisted (artificial intelligence) financial wellness and education fintech (financial technology) start-up.

Ms. Folsom's deep expertise in business strategy, governance, enterprise risk management, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory, compliance, cyber, trade, labour, and global public policy has enabled her to consistently deliver positive and measurable results to the corporate bottom line. Ms. Folsom's extensive leadership, corporate governance, public company and global government affairs experience make her a highly valuable addition to the company's board of directors.

The company also announces the resignation of Andrew Burgess from its board of directors. The board of directors and the management team thank Mr. Burgess for his contributions during his tenure since his appointment in January, 2019, and wish him success in his future endeavours.

PFS (preliminary feasibility study) updates

The company expects to announce in the second half of 2024 its PFS to be prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects, for its 100-per-cent-owned Wicheeda rare earth element (REE) project located near Prince George, B.C., Canada.

All infrastructure geotechnical field data collection and process design in support of the PFS has been completed. Equipment pricing, tailings disposal options and mine design are currently being advanced and the company expects to announce the results of the PFS in the second half of 2024, with the NI 43-101 technical report to be filed within 45 days of the announcement.

About Defense Metals Corp.

Defense Metals is focused on the development of its 100-per-cent-owned, 8,301-hectare (approximately 20,534-acre) Wicheeda REE project, which is located on the traditional territory of the McLeod Lake Indian Band in British Columbia, Canada.

The Wicheeda REE project, approximately 80 kilometres (approximately 50 miles) northeast of the city of Prince George, is readily accessible by a paved highway and all-weather gravel roads and is close to infrastructure, including hydro power transmission lines and gas pipelines. The nearby Canadian National Railway and major highways allow easy access to the port facilities at Prince Rupert, the closest major North American port to Asia.

Defense Metals is a proud member of Discovery Group.

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