In a market increasingly crowded with companies invoking the language of “rare earths” without necessarily understanding the science—or the economics—behind it, the conversation with Mark Tory offers a rare moment of clarity.Appearing on InvestorNews with Tracy Hughes, Tory, President, CEO, and Director of Defense Metals Corp. (TSXV: DEFN | OTCQB: DFMTF), did not lean on market enthusiasm or geopolitical urgency alone. Instead, he returned repeatedly to a principle often overlooked in speculative cycles: in rare earths, grade in the ground is not what matters most—it’s what you can turn it into.That distinction, while technical, is everything.The recent inclusion of Defense Metals in a Sprott-managed ETF underscores a broader shift. Capital—still cautious, still selective—is beginning to differentiate between narrative and viability. As Tory put it, the company itself learned of its inclusion only after the fact, a quiet validation rather than a promotional milestone.Yet the real story lies beneath the surface.Rare earth economics are dictated not by discovery, but by processing. The cost bottleneck sits firmly in the hydrometallurgical stage, where separation and refinement determine whether a project lives or dies. Projects that can upgrade low in-situ grades into high-quality concentrates reduce both capital intensity and operational complexity. Those that cannot are unlikely to survive beyond the feasibility stage.Defense Metals’ Wicheeda project, located in British Columbia, appears to pass that test. A 2.4% total rare earth oxide (TREO) grade in the ground may not initially stand out, but the ability to upgrade that material to a ~50% concentrate places it in the same technical conversation as industry benchmarks like Lynas and MP Materials. That is not a trivial achievement—it is the difference between geological interest and economic relevance.It also explains why Jack Lifton has described Tory as building “North America’s rare earth breakout project.” The phrase is not about scale alone; it is about positioning within the most constrained segment of the supply chain: processing.Location, often treated as a secondary factor in early-stage mining narratives, becomes critical at this stage. Wicheeda’s proximity to Prince George, with access to infrastructure, hydroelectric power, rail, and port connectivity, significantly lowers logistical friction. In a sector where permitting delays and infrastructure gaps routinely derail timelines, such advantages compound quickly.Still, the path forward is not without friction.Despite the surge in attention around rare earths—driven by energy transition narratives, defense considerations, and supply chain realignments—Tory remains measured on capital flows. Interest is rising, but conviction capital remains limited. Governments are more engaged, private investors more curious, but the sector has yet to see the scale of coordinated financing required to build out a full Western supply chain.That gap is precisely where Defense Metals is now focused.The next phase is less about geology and more about partnerships: strategic investors for separation expertise, offtake agreements that can anchor financing, and government support to de-risk infrastructure. The company is effectively building multiple pathways to the same outcome—bankability.In parallel, operational milestones continue. A 30-tonne pilot plant run through SGS will test the full beneficiation and hydromet process, while preparations for a full feasibility study advance. These are not headline-grabbing developments, but they are the milestones that ultimately determine whether a project transitions from concept to construction.What emerges from the conversation is not a story of hype, but of discipline.In a sector increasingly shaped by macro narratives—China dependency, defense supply chains, electrification—the temptation is to treat all rare earth projects as interchangeable. They are not...

In a recent interview with InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes, Larry Braga, President and CEO of AscentX Medical, described gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as one of the most common gastrointestinal conditions globally, affecting a significant portion of the population and largely managed today through pharmaceutical intervention.Braga noted that while proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) dominate the treatment landscape and provide symptom relief for many patients, a meaningful subset experiences what is known as “breakthrough,” where medications no longer adequately control reflux. It is this group that AscentX Medical is targeting with its regenerative biomaterial platform.The company’s approach centers on a minimally invasive, endoscopically delivered injection of proprietary collagen and microspheres into the lower esophageal sphincter. The material is designed to stimulate the body’s own healing response, promoting collagen formation that reinforces the weakened barrier between the stomach and esophagus. According to Braga, the objective is not short-term symptom management, but a longer-term correction that could extend for years.The procedure itself is expected to take approximately one hour and is positioned as a middle-ground solution between chronic medication use and invasive surgical intervention. Braga emphasized that the platform builds on more than three decades of research in regenerative biomaterials, originally developed for aesthetic applications such as wrinkle and acne scar treatment, and now being extended into therapeutic indications.Beyond GERD, AscentX Medical is advancing additional pipeline applications, including stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and fecal incontinence, both of which leverage the same underlying principle of tissue bulking and regeneration to restore function. These programs remain in earlier stages of development but reflect a broader strategy to apply the platform across multiple high-need conditions.Near-term milestones include the completion of preclinical studies and the initiation of a small pilot clinical trial, expected to generate the data required to support expanded trials and future regulatory submissions.

In a recent interview with InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes, Dr. Iqbal Sandhu, Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board at AscentX Medical, outlined the scale and clinical burden of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition affecting tens of millions of patients and defined by the backward flow of stomach acid into the esophagus due to a compromised lower esophageal sphincter.Dr. Sandhu described GERD’s hallmark symptom—persistent heartburn—as more than a nuisance, noting its broader impact on quality of life, from disrupted sleep to dietary restriction and social anxiety. Patients often rely on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which suppress stomach acid but require long-term adherence and raise concerns about side effects. Surgical interventions exist but are invasive and frequently avoided by patients, leaving what he characterized as a significant treatment gap.That gap is where AscentX Medical is positioning its regenerative injectable biomaterial platform, known as G125. The approach centers on delivering a biocompatible material into the gastroesophageal junction, where it acts as a scaffold for the body’s own tissue regeneration. Over time, the material integrates with surrounding structures, promoting collagen deposition and vascularization to form a functional barrier that supports the weakened sphincter.“It’s not viewed as foreign by the body,” Dr. Sandhu explained, emphasizing that stability, non-migration, and the absence of inflammatory response are critical design features. The objective is not to reconstruct anatomy surgically, but to augment the natural barrier function in a minimally invasive, office-based procedure.The company has completed the design and patenting of a specialized delivery needle intended to precisely place the biomaterial within the submucosal layer. Preclinical animal studies are the next step, with evaluations planned at 30-day and six-month intervals to assess positioning, durability, and tissue response. Positive outcomes would support progression into clinical trials and regulatory pathways.For Dr. Sandhu, an interventional gastroenterologist, the appeal lies in scalability. Unlike more complex endoscopic or surgical procedures, the injection-based approach could be readily adopted across standard gastroenterology practices, potentially expanding access to a middle-ground therapy between medication and surgery.