LEADING EDGE MATERIALS' INVESTOR UPDATE AND SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES
- Received ownership and operational permits for Avram Iancu mine in Romania, granting owner-operator autonomy
- Norra Kärr project offers globally significant HREE source with valuable industrial minerals, targeting production within 3-4 years
- Company's projects align with G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan and European strategic initiatives
- Pre-feasibility study for Norra Kärr showing promising results, scheduled for completion in Q1 2026
- Potential restart of fully built and permitted Woxna Graphite mine under evaluation
- County Administrative Boards rejected current Norra Kärr EIA application, requiring additional data and analysis
- Need to address environmental concerns regarding water, cultural values, and land use impact at Norra Kärr
- Planning to change drilling contractors in Romania, indicating potential operational delays
- Heavy dependence on successful supplementary information submission for Norra Kärr project approval
LEADING EDGE MATERIALS’ INVESTOR UPDATE ON SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES
Vancouver, June 22, 2025 – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials” or the “Company”) (TSXV: LEM) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB: LEMIF) provides an investor update on significant activities.
Overview - Becoming a European CRM producer
Concerns about critical raw materials - security of supply, supply chain resilience and defence requirements - have been recurring themes at conferences attended by the Company in recent months, with Heavy Rare Earth Elements (“HREEs”) and natural graphite frequently mentioned; geopolitical uncertainty is the new norm and it is driving partnership, collaboration and greater levels of support for mining.
On June 17, 2025, the G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan was announced focused on ‘diversifying the responsible production and supply of critical minerals, encouraging investments in critical mineral projects and local value creation, and promoting innovation’ in the G7, and with partners beyond, working together and ‘to swiftly protect our economic and national security’'.
At the EIT Raw Materials Summit in March, graphite and defence were frequent mentions on the first day, with widespread calls for more action, now the Critical Raw Materials Act is in force, and the need for more money.
Against this backdrop, LEM’s Critical Raw Materials (“CRMs”) portfolio is very well positioned and the Company is working on becoming a European CRM producer.
Norra Kärr is a globally significant source of HREEs with the economic advantage of valuable industrial minerals, specifically nepheline syenite; a production start within 3–4 years is in reach. In parallel, we are evaluating the restart of production from the fully built and permitted Woxna Graphite mine.
On exploration, and possibly future production, we have strengthened our position in Romania, with Leading Edge Materials Romania (“LEMR”) being granted ownership and operational permits for the Avram Iancu mine by CNCAN (National Commission for Control of Nuclear Activities) under the supervision of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM).
This is significant recognition of the funds invested and commitment made by the Company in country and gives us real ‘owner-operator’ autonomy over a deposit described as ‘one of the most important deposits [historically] in operation in Bihor (IAEA report, November 1997) and noted for uranium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc mineralization (IMWA Symposium 2007: Water in Mining Environments, May 2007).
Norra Kärr – Application progresses
On 8 April, the CEO was invited to Solvay’s inauguration of a new production line for rare earth permanent magnets (“REPM”) in France. Solvay is partnering with emerging mining and recycling players to accelerate the establishment of a robust, reliable, and sustainable supply chain, crucial for Europe’s competitiveness and industrial and technological sovereignty. The essential creation of a European rare earth supply chain was again the theme of Solvay’s presentation at The Rare Earth Industry Association (“REIA”) Conference in Montreal last week.
In recent months, the Company’s application for a new Exploitation Concession (“Bearbetningskoncession”), 25-year mining lease has been out for consultation. The County Administrative Boards (CABs) of Jönköping and Östergötland have now communicated that they, at this time, cannot approve the Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) submitted by the Company’s Swedish subsidiary GREENNA Mineral AB. The CABs state that additional data and analysis are needed.
The decision and statement from the CABs tell us that we have some additional work to do describing the impact of the project, with an emphasis on water, cultural values and impact on other forms of land use. Obviously, these are crucial topics that must be addressed properly in our application. It should be noted that while the CABs reject our application as it currently stands, they also offer us the opportunity to supplement it. The Company’s Swedish environmental permitting team is already reviewing the comments from the CABs in detail, and we believe that we will be able to respond with supplementary information to our application to the satisfaction of the CABs and other stakeholders.
Developing Norra Kärr is of the utmost importance not only for Sweden, but for Europe. Geopolitical tensions and unstable global trade flows mean that it is more important than ever to produce HREEs in Sweden. That will enable us to extract metals that are essential to both achieving a complete energy transition and secure our defences.
Europe relies heavily on China for its imports of HREEs. China dominates all stages of the rare earth elements supply chain from mining to permanent magnet manufacturing. The speed at which China can build new production is awe inspiring, and, with an established industrial base decades in the making, it has the ability to innovate beyond anything Europe can dream.
Europe is compelled to change its ways, think and act radically differently to have a secure future.
Highlighting Sweden’s role in CRMs, Sweden’s Energy, Business and Industry Minister Ebba Busch recently stated that “Sweden has unique opportunities to be and remain a strong player in global mineral politics. We have the most sustainable mining industry in the world – ethically sustainable, environmentally sustainable, and with good working conditions.”
The Company is developing and will manage Norra Kärr with social acceptance and transparency towards the local community as its primary considerations. The new application for mining license represents a reduction of 65 percent in land area compared to the old application which was initially approved in 2013. Chemical processing of the HREE-rich eudialyte concentrate will take place at an existing industrial location, and not on site. With the elimination of chemical processing, the Company has largely addressed stakeholder concerns about pollution risk to Lake Vättern.
The changes to the application are in response to the public’s concerns to the old application. This is what responsible mining companies do, they listen. Proposed activities at site are now similar to those of a quarrying operation; similar to what already exists around Lake Vättern. Our target is to make products from
Looking ahead, a Swedish mining license (sw. Bearbetningskoncession) is decided by the Chief Mining Inspector. If the Chief Mining Inspector and CABs disagree about an application, the Government can then make the decision. Our objective is to provide supplementary information and explanation on the sufficiency of our enhanced application to the full satisfaction of the CABs, so that the development of Norra Kärr can progress unimpeded.
Alongside the mining lease process, Pre-feasibility (“PFS”) workstreams are underway. Testwork has now been completed on nepheline syenite and aegirine to determine their mineralogy, chemical composition, and leachate chemistry. The promising results are being used to determine possible market segments and specifications that can be achieved, potential demand and pricing, to be included in an updated PFS economic model for Norra Kärr. The Company envisages the PFS will be completed in Q1 2026.
Woxna Graphite Mine – Potential Restart
The Company is collaborating with an engineering consultant on updating the in-house production restart study, originally completed in 2022. We have initiated crushing testwork on Woxna ore to explore improved liberation and preservation of graphite flakes. Additionally, metallurgical testwork is planned to evaluate potential upgrades to the processing plant, aimed at optimizing performance.
Our objective is to produce a high-quality, high-grade flake graphite concentrate. We continue to receive inbound enquiries and remain optimistic about Woxna’s future prospects.
This ongoing workstream will support the development of a new business plan, which could facilitate future project financing discussions and potentially unlock access to Swedish or EU public funding.
Bihor Sud – Major Milestone
Exploration activities at the Bihor Sud project have continued steadily, bolstered by the addition of four new geologists who joined the team in January. Recent work has included underground mapping, diamond drilling, geophysical surveys, core logging, and sampling. To accelerate progress, the Company plans to change drilling contractors within the next one to two months.
The Company remains focused on defining a large-scale, mineable mineral resource at Bihor Sud, particularly within gallery G2, where exploration is targeting promising zinc-lead-copper-silver mineralization. Results to date have been encouraging and highlight the project's strong potential for a significant polymetallic discovery.
A major milestone was the granting of ownership and operational permits for the Avram Iancu mine. Historical mining and exploration at this site have left behind hundreds of kilometres of galleries and underground workings. In addition to ongoing work at G2, the Romanian team has initiated preliminary investigations at Avram Iancu. They successfully located the entrance to a 3-kilometre tunnel observed to be in good condition. Based on historical reports, this tunnel connects with up to 15 kilometres of workings and zones containing massive sulphides in carbonate-replacement deposits with primary copper-bearing minerals—including chalcocite and bornite.
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
About Leading Edge Materials
Leading Edge Materials is a Canadian public company focused on developing a portfolio of critical raw material projects located in the European Union. Critical raw materials are determined as such by the European Union based on their economic importance and supply risk. They are directly linked to high growth technologies such as lithium-ion batteries and permanent magnets for electric motors, wind turbines and defense applications. The portfolio of projects includes the
Additional Information
The information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact person set out above, on June 22, 2025, 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
This news release may contain statements which constitute “forward-looking information”, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company’s future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, fluctuations in market prices, changes in the Company’s intended use of proceeds from the Private Placement, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws.
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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FAQ
What is the status of Leading Edge Materials' Norra Kärr mining lease application?
When is the Pre-feasibility Study (PFS) for LEMIF's Norra Kärr project expected to complete?
What progress has Leading Edge Materials made in Romania?
What are Leading Edge Materials' plans for the Woxna Graphite mine?
How does LEMIF's strategy align with European critical materials initiatives?
