Primary Hydrogen Provides Wicheeda North Permitting Update and Announces Corporate Change
Primary Hydrogen Stumbles at Year-End as Key Geologist Departs Amid Permitting Push
The December 18, 2025, news release provides two key updates. First, it reports on the permitting status of the Wicheeda North REE project in British Columbia. The Notice of Work application, submitted on August 1, 2025, is currently undergoing First Nations consultation. The company anticipates this process will conclude in early Q1 2026, after which it plans to hire drilling contractors for a maiden drill program.
Second, the company announced the departure of Peter Lauder, the Vice President of Exploration. The company stated it will utilize internal resources and third-party contractors to manage exploration activities going forward.
The permitting update for Wicheeda North is a routine, neutral-to-slightly-positive development. It confirms that the project is advancing along the expected timeline communicated in previous releases (July 30 and August 20, 2025). However, this is simply a status update and does not materially change the company's outlook.
The departure of Peter Lauder, the VP of Exploration, is the more significant and negative component of this news. Mr. Lauder was the named Qualified Person (QP) on nearly all of the company's technical news releases over the past year, from the initial program announcements to the reporting of soil gas anomalies. His departure creates a vacuum in technical leadership and project continuity at a critical juncture, as the company prepares for its first-ever drill program at Wicheeda North. The vague statement about using "internal resources and qualified third-party contractors" fails to adequately address this loss of key personnel and introduces significant execution risk. The market is likely to view this departure as a major red flag, questioning the stability of the technical team and the strength of the projects he was overseeing. This negative development overshadows the series of positive, albeit very early-stage, exploration results reported in November.
Primary Hydrogen Corp. is a Canadian-based junior exploration company focused on two distinct and speculative sectors: natural hydrogen and rare earth elements (REE). The company has amassed a large, early-stage portfolio of properties across British Columbia, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, and a single project in Colorado, USA.
The company's most advanced and flagship project is the Wicheeda North REE Project in British Columbia. Its primary appeal is its proximity (approximately 5km) to Defense Metals Corp.'s advanced Wicheeda REE deposit, which has a Pre-Feasibility Study. Primary Hydrogen has conducted geophysical and soil sampling surveys on the property and is currently in the process of permitting for a maiden drill program. All other projects, particularly the natural hydrogen portfolio, are at a grassroots stage, with exploration limited to surface soil and gas sampling.