NEWS & MEDIA

What would it take for Norra Kärr to be seen as a truly strategic European rare earth project? DirektStudios put that question to Kurt Budge, CEO of Leading Edge Materials in a new interview. "I would argue that the project is already strategic now. It is not me as the CEO of the company saying this is strategically important. It is the Swedish Geological Survey that discovered the project and gave it national interest in 2011. And it is Minister Busch, who when she granted the mining lease in June said that Norra Kärr could meet a large part of Sweden and Europe's needs for heavy rare earths." Europe currently produces no rare earths at all. Dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium are essential for the permanent magnets and advanced technologies, used in defence, electric vehicles and wind turbines, and China still controls almost all supply. Prices in Europe are now well above those in China, and the next review of China's export controls falls on 10 November 2026. Norra Kärr is one of the most strategically significant deposits in Europe, rich in heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium. Watch the full interview, which also covers Woxna and Bihor Sud: #RareEarths #CriticalRawMaterials #Sweden #Europe

Leading Edge Materials CEO Kurt Budge presents live from the Rare Earth Industry Association conference in Frankfurt, giving investors a comprehensive overview of the company and its flagship Norra Kärr Heavy Rare Earth Elements project in Sweden. Kurt covers why Norra Kärr is one of Europe's most strategically important mineral deposits, its unique concentration of dysprosium, terbium and yttrium, and why the project is so well timed given China's export restrictions on rare earths and growing European demand for domestic critical raw material supply. The presentation covers the current permitting status - including the December 2025 endorsements from the county administrative boards of Jönköping and Östergötland, and the March 2026 recommendation from the Swedish Mining Inspectorate - and what a positive government decision would mean for the company's value. Kurt also discusses the broader European rare earth ecosystem, the Woxna graphite mine restart potential, the Bihor Sud nickel-cobalt project in Romania, and how Leading Edge Materials is positioned to contribute to the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act goals.

In this interview, we speak with Kurt Budge, CEO of Leading Edge Materials, about the strategic development of the Norra Kärr heavy rare earth project in Sweden. He provides an update on the pending mining lease decision, discusses the redesigned flow sheet that decouples extraction from processing to streamline environmental permitting, and explains the significance of the deposit's high dysprosium and terbium content. Kurt also highlights how the project is aligned with the evolving regulatory push for independent, ex-China supply chains and comments on the structural pricing bifurcation emerging in the heavy rare earths market. He concludes by outlining the key de-risking catalysts investors can expect over the coming months as the company targets production by 2030, alongside option value from its Woxna graphite and Bihor Sud assets.

#mining #HREE #Rareearthelements #mining #HREE #Rareearthelements #Criticalrawmaterialsact #graphite