{"id":33230,"date":"2026-05-28T11:38:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T11:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/33230\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T11:38:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T11:38:06","slug":"defense-metals-hanhwa-sign-mou-for-rare-earth-supply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/33230\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense Metals, Hanhwa sign MoU for rare earth supply"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensemetals.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Defense Metals<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/mining.com.au\/company\/defense-metals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"stock-ticker\">(TSX-V:DEFN)<\/a> has entered a non\u2011binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Korean shipbuilding giant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hanwha.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Hanwha Ocean<\/a> to explore a strategic collaboration involving future rare earth element (REE) supply.<\/p>\n<p>The parties intend to evaluate a framework for a long\u2011term offtake agreement, under which Defense Metals could supply certain rare earth materials from its Wicheeda Project to support Hanwha\u2019s manufacturing requirements.<\/p>\n<p>The MoU also contemplates a possible strategic investment by Hanwha in Defense Metals, subject to due diligence and definitive agreements.<\/p>\n<p>The multi-national collaboration reflects growing demand for secure, domestic sources of critical minerals used in defence and maritime technologies, including naval propulsion systems, advanced electronics, and communications systems.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis MoU is an important step in advancing a made\u2011in\u2011Canada critical minerals supply chain supporting strategically important defence and maritime industries,\u201d Defense Metals CEO Mark Tory says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRare earth elements are increasingly recognised as foundational materials for next\u2011generation defence technologies and advanced manufacturing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A Hanwha spokesperson said the company is focused on \u2018ensuring reliable access to critical materials\u2019 for Canada\u2019s evolving naval defence capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis MOU provides a framework to evaluate a potential long\u2011term partnership that could support supply chain security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Located 80km northeast of Prince George in British Columbia, Canada, the Wicheeda Project is one of the most advanced undeveloped REE deposits in North America, with Defense Metals holding 100% of the project.<\/p>\n<p>Wicheeda hosts an indicated mineral resource of 11.1 million tonnes @ 1.96% total rare earth oxides, including neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium \u2014 critical for electric vehicles and wind turbines.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mining.com.au\/company\/defense-metals-corp\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Defense Metals<\/a> is an advanced rare earth element development company focused on delivering critical metals to defence, high technology, and clean energy supply chains.<\/p>\n<p>Write to <a href=\"https:\/\/mining.com.au\/defense-metals-hanhwa-sign-mou-for-rare-earth-supply\/mailto:jc.villarba@mining.com.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">JC Villarba<\/a> at <a href=\"https:\/\/mining.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Mining.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Images: Defense Metals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Defense Metals (TSX-V:DEFN) has entered a non\u2011binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Korean shipbuilding giant Hanwha Ocean to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[18489,363,1492,21191,1576,355,354,1129,9865,10492,2666,14508,21192],"class_list":["post-33230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hanwha","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-defence","tag-dysprosium","tag-energy","tag-hanwha","tag-hanwha-group","tag-memorandum-of-understanding","tag-minerals","tag-neodymium","tag-north-america","tag-offtake-agreement","tag-praseodymium"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}