Mining Lease Application Submitted FOR Norra Kärr
NEWS RELEASE December 8, 2024
LEADING EDGE MATERIALS CORP.
14th Floor 1040 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, V6E 4H1
[email protected] | www.leadingedgematerials.com
TSX.V: LEM | Nasdaq First North: LEMSE | OTCQB: LEMIF | FRA: 7FL
MINING LEASE APPLICATION SUBMITTED FOR NORRA KÄRR
Vancouver, December 8, 2024 – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials ” or the
“Company”) (TSXV: LEM) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB: LEMIF) announces that an application
for an Exploitation Concession (“Bearbetningskoncession”) 25-year mining lease has been submitted to
the Mining Inspectorate of Sweden (“Bergsstaten”) for the Norra Kärr Heavy Rare Earths (HREE) Project.
Norra Kärr had previously been granted a Bearbetningskoncession, in 2013, when the Company
proposed that mining and all processing activities be located at the Norra Kärr site.
The Norra Kärr project was fundamentally redesigned in the 2021, following feedback from
stakeholders, completely decoupling mining and chemical processing activities, with the latter relocated
away from the mine site. The redesign was the basis for the Preliminary Economic Assessment
completed in 2021 (“PEA 2021”). A reminder of the financial highlights from the PEA2021 are included
later in this news release.
The Bearbetningskoncession application is accordingly for the quarrying operation that is proposed at
the Norra Kärr site, producing a HREE concentrate and the industrial mineral nepheline syenite.
Downstream chemical processing of the HREE concentrate will take place at an industrial park alongside
similar industries, with Luleå being a preferred location.
When compared to the Pre-feasibility Study in 2015 (“PFS 2015”), the PEA 2021 reduced the area for
operations at Norra Kärr by 65%, reduced water usage by up to 30%, and increased the conversion of
excavated materials to products from ~ 1% to at least 60%. The Company plans to conduct testwork in
Q1 2025 to further investigate the market potential of both nepheline syenite and aegirine. Aegirine is
classified as waste in the current design but could be a saleable product.
Kurt Budge, Chief Executive Officer, states:
“Climate change, war and geopolitics are making critical raw materials headline news, with the Green
Transition in Europe now sharing coverage with security and defense. The need for robust critical raw
material supply chains is an imperative for the region.
In 2014, a report by The European Rare Earths Competency Network (ERECON) titled Strengthening The
European Rare Earths Supply-Chain stated that ‘The development of new sources of heavy rare earths
outside of China and greater recycling must [therefore] remain an urgent priority…’.
The Report, now a decade old, stated that ‘With adequate funding and permitting, mining could begin
[at Norra Kärr] before 2020 and secure European REE supply for decades’.
The Norra Kärr journey started long before this, with its discovery by the Geological Survey of Sweden
(SGU) in the early 1900s. In more recent times, SGU designated Norra Kärr a mineral deposit of national
interest in July 2011, linked to its potential for providing a supply of rare earth elements to Sweden and
Europe. At the time, the SGU stated "REEs are of great importance in modern society and access to these
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elements is very limited within Europe. Norra Kärr is a very important project from a material supply
point of view, both for Sweden as well as for Europe. The mineral resource at Norra Kärr is the only NI
43-101 compliant REE resource in mainland Europe".
The new Bearbetningskoncession application is for a project with significantly reduced environmental
impact and significantly increased sustainability. Proposed activities at the Norra Kärr site will be similar
in nature to any other quarrying operation and downstream chemical processes will be removed from
the mining site.
In August, the Company submitted an application to the European Commission (EC) for Strategic Project
designation for Norra Kärr. Norra Kärr can make a significant contribution to Sweden and the EU’s
preparedness, greater self-reliance and resilience when it comes to HREE requirements and the
strategically important industries that depend on them.
Looking ahead, 2025 is shaping up to be a transformational year for Norra Kärr, with decisions to be
taken on Strategic Project status and thereafter the Bearbetningskoncession. The Company is also
planning for the start of Pre-feasibility.”
Recap – Preliminary Economic Assessment 2021 (PEA)
The PEA was prepared by SRK (UK) Ltd. ( “SRK”) and all figures in the PEA are in US dollars unless
otherwise specified. SRK re-evaluated the Project with the objective to improve resource utilization,
project sustainability and substantially minimize its environmental footprint compared to the design in
the PFS 2015.
Financial Highlights:
• Pre- and post-tax Net Present Value (NPV) of $1,026M and $762M using a 10% discount rate
• Pre- and Post-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 30.8% and 26.3%
• Accumulated LoM project revenues of $9,962M
• Average annual EBITDA of $206M
• Initial Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) of $487M
• Pre-tax Payback Period from first production of 5.1 years
• Life of mine (LOM) average gross basket price per kg of separated mixed REO product at $53
• Operating cost per kg of separated mixed REO product at $33 including toll separation charges
• By-product revenue per kg of separated mixed REO product $19
Operational Highlights:
• LOM is 26 years
• LOM average annual:
o Mining rate of 1,150,000 tonnes
o Strip ratio of 0.32
o TREO 5,341 tonnes
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▪ Main magnet rare earth oxides (MagREO) (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb) 1,005 tonnes
o Nepheline Syenite co-product 732,885 tonnes
o Zirconium dioxide co-product 10,200 tonnes
o Niobium oxide product 525 tonnes
PEA 2021 news release: https://leadingedgematerials.com/leading-edge-materials-announces-positive-
preliminary-economic-assessment-results-for-its-norra-karr-ree-project-with-us1026m-pre-tax-npv10-
and-30-8-pre-tax-irr/
Norra Kärr’s Relevance to the EU:
Norra Kärr is an upstream asset that could be the EU’s first step in HREE primary production and the
establishment of a secure, resilient, and sustainable value chain for REEs; helping to strengthen the EU’s
self-reliance and to reduce strategic dependency on China.
There is a railway within 30 kilometers of the Norra Kärr site. The location provides uninterrupted road
and rail access to Baltic ports and onto European markets where both REE refining capacity and REE
enabled technology consumers are located.
EU demand for rare earth metals is expected to increase six -fold by 2030. The EU is almost 100%
dependent on China for HREEs1.
A report by The European Rare Earths Competency Network (ERECON) in 2014 titled Strengthening The
European Rare Earths Supply-Chain stated that 'The development of new sources of heavy rare earths
outside of China and greater recycling must therefore remain an urgent priority for Europe.'2
The report, now a decade old, stated that 'With adequate funding and permitting, mining could begin
[at Norra Kärr] before 2020 and secure European REE supply for decades.' Norra Kärr is one of two 'best
known' advanced stage REE projects in Europe, which given size and grade could potentially contribute
to Europe’s security of supply of REE for decades to come.
In May 2023, the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA), in the report titled Materials for Energy
Storage and Conversion - A European Call for Action 3, identified over 50 investment cases targeting
materials for energy storage and conversion across Europe and beyond, and a total investment need
exceeding EUR 15 billion. Norra Kärr was one of the projects identified, that combined with the others,
if realized, would make a significant contribution to the EU’s needs by 2030. The report acknowledged
that there is limited primary production within the EU and for some materials related to energy storage,
the EU relies almost entirely on imports.
Critical Raw Materials Act:
On 18 March 2024, the European Council adopted the regulation to establish a framework to ensure a
secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials, known as the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).
The CRMA introduces clear deadlines for permit procedures for EU extracting projects, allows the
Commission and member states to recognize a project as strategic, requires supply -chain risk
assessments, requires member states to have national exploration plans and ensures the EU’s access to
critical and strategic raw materials through ambitious benchmarks on extraction, processing, recycling
and diversification of import sources.
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On 23 May 2024, a call for Strategic Projects as defined by the CRMA was opened. The CRMA designates
strategic projects to increase EU capacity to extract, process and recycle strategic raw materials and
diversify EU supplies from third countries. Strategic raw materials are crucial for the success of the green
and digital transitions as well as the resilience of the defense and aerospace sectors.
Sources:
1https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/critical-raw-materials/
2https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/10882
3https://erma.eu/new-roadmap-for-a-value-chain-on-raw-materials/
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Leading Edge Materials Corp.
Kurt Budge, CEO
For further information, please contact the Company at:
1.604.685.9316
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 and wind
power that underpin the sustainability transition of society. The portfolio of projects includes the 100%
owned Woxna Graphite mine (Sweden), Norra Kärr Heavy Rare Earth Element project (Sweden), Bergby
lithium project (Sweden) and the 51% owned Bihor Sud Nickel Cobalt exploration alliance (Romania).
Additional Information
The information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact person set out above,
on December 08, 2024, at 11:30 PM 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”. Mangold Fondkommission AB is the
Company’s Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North and may be contacted via email [email protected] or
by phone +46 (0) 8 5030 1550.
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future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company’s future business
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availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be
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