LEADING EDGE MATERIALS GRANTED 25-YEAR MINING LEASE FOR NORRA KÄRR HEAVY RARE EARTH ELEMENTS PROJECT
- GREENNA Mineral AB, the Company’s wholly owned Swedish subsidiary, has been granted a 25-year Exploitation Concession (Sw. bearbetningskoncession) for Norra Kärr K Nr. 2 by the Swedish Government – a transformational milestone for the Company.
- Norra Kärr is one of Europe’s richest rare earth element deposits, with a particularly high proportion of dysprosium, terbium and yttrium.
- Leading Edge is on track to develop the EU’s first Heavy Rare Earth Elements (“HREE”) mine.
Vancouver, June 28, 2026 – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials” or the “Company”) (TSXV: LEM) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB: LEMIF) (FRA: 7FL) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned Swedish subsidiary, GREENNA Mineral AB (“GMAB”), has been granted an Exploitation Concession – 25-year mining lease – for the Norra Kärr Heavy Rare Earth Elements Project in Sweden.
The Concession was granted by the Swedish Government following a formal recommendation from the Mining Inspectorate (Sw. Bergsstaten), which submitted the application to the Government for a final decision after all involved agencies had either endorsed the application or recommended approval.
The project’s strategic importance to Sweden and the EU was a decisive factor in the Government’s decision. The Geological Survey of Sweden (“SGU”) has confirmed that Norra Kärr is one of Europe’s richest rare earth elements (“REE”) deposits, with a particularly high proportion of the most valuable heavy rare earth elements, including terbium, dysprosium and yttrium. With no REE production anywhere in the EU today, the Government concluded that supplying Sweden and Europe with these critical raw materials – essential for permanent magnets in electric motors and the green energy transition – clearly outweighs competing land-use interests.
CEO Comment
Kurt Budge, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“This is a transformational moment for Norra Kärr, for Leading Edge Materials, and for European critical raw materials supply security. The Government’s decision affirms that this is a strategically important heavy rare earth deposit, located in a Tier 1 jurisdiction, with the capacity to supply all of Europe’s annual dysprosium requirements alongside meaningful terbium and yttrium production — materials that are indispensable to the energy transition and European industrial sovereignty.
Our next steps will be to advance the environmental permitting, update the pre-feasibility study, and secure offtake agreements with partners who understand the strategic value of Norra Kärr. With European supply chain resilience now a policy imperative, Leading Edge Materials is on track to develop Europe’s first heavy rare earths mine.
We recognise that local concerns exist alongside the broad European consensus on the need for domestic rare earth extraction, and we take those concerns seriously. Norra Kärr will be developed to the highest environmental standards, in close dialogue with the local community, including those who remain sceptical of the project.
The studies now underway will examine how mining can be developed in harmony with the local environment, and we will share our findings openly at every stage. Water protection and environmental stewardship are central to how we will build this project.”
Government Decision
The Government has determined that the public interest in domestic REE supply is paramount. The regulatory framework is designed to work in stages, with this Concession establishing the right to mine, and Environmental Code permitting addressing the operational detail in the next stage. The Company’s approach throughout the permitting process has been to engage constructively with regulators and stakeholders. The Company’s commitment is to develop the most sustainable mining operation possible, and, in so doing, demonstrate responsible development practice.
Next Steps
With the Exploitation Concession now granted, the Company will progress with an updated Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”). In parallel, the Company will advance the environmental permitting process and begin active engagement with potential offtake partners and financiers, with a view to securing the foundations for bringing Norra Kärr into production. The Company will also consider reapplying for Strategic Project designation under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act, which would provide a streamlined environmental permitting timeline and potentially greater access to European strategic financing.
A Strategically Critical Project for Europe*
Heavy rare earth elements — dysprosium and terbium in particular — are essential inputs for the high-performance permanent magnets used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, defence systems and advanced robotics. Europe is a major consumer of these materials but currently has no domestic production, relying almost entirely on imports from China, which controls approximately 60% of global rare earth mining and over 90% of downstream processing and separation.
This dependence was brought into sharp focus in April 2025, when China introduced export controls on dysprosium, terbium and other heavy rare earth elements, triggering an immediate and severe divergence in pricing between Chinese and non-Chinese markets. European prices for dysprosium rose from approximately US$280 per kilogram to US$950 per kilogram, while terbium reached approximately US$4,000 per kilogram in Europe compared to around US$1,000 per kilogram in China — a four-fold premium that underscores the acute vulnerability of European supply chains.
The EU Critical Raw Materials Act sets a target of sourcing at least 10% of annual strategic raw material consumption from domestic extraction by 2030, yet Europe currently has no operating rare earths mine. Norra Kärr has the potential to supply 100% of Europe’s annual dysprosium needs and meaningful quantities of terbium and yttrium, representing one of the most advanced and realistic solutions to that challenge.
Yttrium represents 34% of the project’s in-situ total rare earth oxide resource and has also emerged as a critical supply bottleneck following China’s April 2025 export controls. European spot prices for yttrium oxide increased significantly in 2025, reaching approximately US$270 per kilogram compared to a Chinese FOB price of approximately US$11 per kilogram — a price divergence that underscores Europe’s complete absence of domestic yttrium supply.
The project’s ratio of neodymium-praseodymium to dysprosium-terbium is just 2.5 to 1, meaning that for every kilogram of NdPr produced, Norra Kärr is expected to yield 0.4 kg of the far scarcer and higher-value DyTb. By comparison, the peer group average ratio is 38.5 to 1. While much of the global rare earth development pipeline is dominated by light rare earth projects that will add primarily NdPr supply to the market, Norra Kärr offers direct, large-scale exposure to the heavy rare earth elements that are most constrained in supply and most urgently needed by European industry.
The 2021 Preliminary Economic Assessment** (“PEA”) outlined a 26-year operation producing an average of 5,340 tonnes per annum (“tpa”) of mixed rare earth oxides (“MREOs”) — including dysprosium, terbium, neodymium and praseodymium — based on material representing approximately 30% of the project’s inferred resource of 110 million tonnes grading 0.5% TREO. By-products include approximately 733,000 tpa of nepheline syenite, 10,200 tpa of zirconium and 525 tpa of niobium oxides. The PEA estimated a post-tax net present value (10%) of US$762 million, an internal rate of return of 26.3%, and average annual EBITDA of US$206 million. These estimates were based on dysprosium and terbium prices of US$486 per kilogram and US$1,216 per kilogram respectively — a fraction of current European market prices of approximately US$950 per kilogram and US$4,000 per kilogram. The PEA is preliminary in nature and is based on inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realised.
The strategic importance of heavy rare earth elements to Europe’s industrial future has never been more apparent. As China’s export controls have demonstrated, access to dysprosium, terbium and yttrium cannot be taken for granted — and the consequences of supply disruption are severe. Norra Kärr, now holding an Exploitation Concession, is key to addressing Europe’s critical risk exposure.
* Edison Investment Research:
“Leading Edge Materials – Meeting Europe’s Rare Earths Challenge”, 9 February 2026.
https://www.edisongroup.com/research/meeting-europes-rare-earths-challenge/BM-2766/
Edison estimates current European dysprosium demand at 180-200 tpa of Dy₂O₃. Norra Kärr’s 2021 PEA discloses average annual Dy₂O₃ production of 248t, which Edison notes is “similar to European consumption.”
“Leading Edge Materials — Addressing the European REE shortage”, 21 April 2026.
https://www.edisongroup.com/research/addressing-the-european-ree-shortage/BM-2909/
** The scientific and technical information contained in this news release relating to the Norra Kärr project, including details of forecast dysprosium, terbium and yttrium production, are set out the National Instrument 43-101 technical report entitled “Preliminary Economic Assessment of Norra Kärr Rare Earth Deposit and Potential By-Products, Sweden”, with effective date August 18, 2021, and issue date August 19, 2021, prepared for Leading Edge Materials Corp. by SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd. The report is available on the Company’s website at www.leadingedgematerials.com and under its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.ca.
https://www.leadingedgematerials.com/_files/ugd/f9767f_bd96a0d7d9c04b95b43b18a1ab157d98.pdf
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release relating to the Norra Kärr project has been reviewed and approved by Mr Martin Pittuck MSc of SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd, a chartered engineer and member of the Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials, who is an independent Qualified Person under the terms of NI 43-101 for REE deposits. SRK Qualified Persons are all independent as defined under National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Leading Edge Materials Corp.
Kurt Budge, CEO
For further information, please contact the Company at:
info@leadingedgematerials.com
www.leadingedgematerials.com
Corporate Head Office (Vancouver, Canada): 778-686-5357
About Leading Edge Materials
Leading Edge Materials Corp. is a Canadian-listed company focused on developing critical raw material assets across the European Union. Its primary focus is the wholly owned Norra Kärr Heavy Rare Earth Element project in Sweden — one of the world’s most strategically significant heavy rare earth deposits and among the few advanced-stage projects within the EU capable of producing dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium at meaningful scale.
Situated in one of the globe’s most politically and regulatory stable mining environments, Norra Kärr is well-positioned to contribute directly to the objectives of the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, including the bloc’s target of sourcing 10% of its critical raw material consumption domestically by 2030. Beyond rare earths, the Company also holds the Woxna Graphite mine in Sweden — a fully constructed and permitted facility — as well as a 90% stake in the Bihor Sud Nickel-Cobalt exploration alliance in Romania.
Additional Information
The information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact person set out above, on June 28, 2026, at 23:30 Vancouver time.
Leading Edge Materials is listed on the TSXV under the symbol “LEM”, OTCQB under the symbol “LEMIF” and Nasdaq First North Stockholm under the symbol “LEMSE”. Svensk Kapitalmarknadsgranskning (“SKMG”) is the Company’s Certified Adviser for the Nasdaq First North Growth Market (Stockholm) and may be contacted via email ca@skmg.se or by phone +46 (0)8 913 008.
Reader Advisory
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Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
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