Announcement • Jul 21

Leading Edge Materials Corp. Advances Midstream Processing Strategy for the Norra Kärr Heavy Rare Earth Elements Project

Leading Edge Materials Corp. has launched an initiative to enhance Norra Kärr’s flowsheet with collaboration on new hydrometallurgical research in support of future pilot plant establishment. Two projects involving the company were awarded funding through Vinnova, the Swedish Innovation agency, as part of a SEK 70 million (CAD 10 million) national push to secure Sweden's critical raw materials supply. Domain sampling is now underway to generate high-grade eudialyte concentrate, the essential feedstock for upcoming hydrometallurgical pilot testing. The company is on track to develop the EU’s first heavy rare earth elements mine following the grant of Norra Kärr’s 25-year mining lease in June 2026. The company is providing an update on its midstream processing strategy for eudialyte concentrate from the Norra Kärr Heavy Rare Earth Elements Project and the path toward pilot-scale hydrometallurgical testing, a key step in demonstrating the process at commercial scale. This builds on the significant flowsheet development work completed over the last 15 years, and new research into silicate management under the Vinnova-funded SHLENK project. Eudialyte is recognised globally as one of the most promising mineral sources of heavy rare earth elements, with projects in Greenland and Australia being developed in addition to Norra Kärr in Sweden. With eudialyte, the behaviour of silicates during leaching needs to be managed to prevent gel formation. Two well-known approaches are dilution, reducing silicate concentrations through sufficient dilution during leaching and inhibiting gel formation, and pre-treatment, treating the eudialyte concentrate ahead of leaching to prevent silicate release during dissolution, while preserving rare earth element solubility. Studies have demonstrated that under correctly selected pretreatment conditions for a given source material, silicate leaching can be effectively prevented. The pre-treatment option was used in the company's 2021 Preliminary Economic Assessment and current project development workstreams are focused on performance and cost optimisation, and upscaling studies. The pre-treatment approach has shown strong results in laboratory-scale testing for Norra Kärr material and an extended pilot is intended to further strengthen hydrometallurgical understanding. To achieve optimal pilot data, a new high-grade eudialyte concentrate will be produced. Over the summer, the company is conducting a domain sampling programme using the existing drill core library. This will be followed by further mineral processing to produce eudialyte concentrate while also generating valuable nepheline syenite as co-product for customer trials. Consistent with the design set out in the company’s 2021 Preliminary Economic Assessment, mineral processing at Norra Kärr will only feature crushing, grinding, and magnetic separation; the eudialyte concentrate would then be transported to a midstream hydrometallurgical facility at a separate, established industrial location – keeping the footprint at Norra Kärr small and placing chemical processing where infrastructure already exists. The pilot work programme will benefit from research into improved processing methods, including through the company's collaboration with RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) under the SEK 1.5 million (CAD 0.2 million) funded SHLENK project – "Silicate management in leaching of eudialyte from Norra Kärr". SHLENK is one of two research projects involving the company’s wholly owned Swedish subsidiary, Greenna Mineral AB, that have recently been granted funding by the Swedish Government through Vinnova's Impact Innovation call, "Resilient metals and minerals supply for strengthened preparedness," alongside the NordAL (Nordic Alumina) project. Together with 17 other projects, these initiatives form part of a national effort to strengthen Sweden's metals and minerals supply chain in peacetime, during heightened preparedness, and in times of crisis. The combined programme represents more than SEK 70 million (CAD 10 million) in funding, of which approximately SEK 42 million (CAD 6 million) is provided by Vinnova. The work is carried out within Swedish Metals & Minerals, a joint initiative by the Swedish Energy Agency, Formas, and Vinnova under the framework of Impact Innovation. Norra Kärr is one of Europe's most significant deposits of heavy rare earth elements, hosted in an eudialyte-bearing alkaline rock body in southern Sweden. The project's strategic value is underpinned by its high dysprosium and terbium content, critical inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and defence applications. On 28 June 2026, an Exploitation Concession – 25-year mining lease - was granted by the Swedish Government following a formal recommendation from the Mining Inspectorate, which submitted the application to the Government for a final decision after all involved agencies had either endorsed the application or recommended approval. Edison estimates current European dysprosium demand at 180-200 tpa of Dy2O3. Norra Kärr's 2021 Preliminary Economic Assessment discloses average annual Dy2O3 production of 248t, which Edison notes is similar to European consumption. 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.

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