NEWS & MEDIA

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

Leading Edge Materials CEO Kurt Budge joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share news that the company’s wholly owned Swedish subsidiary, Greenna Mineral AB (GMAB), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ascension Earth Resources. The agreement marks an important step in evaluating innovative processing approaches for the Norra Kärr rare earth element (REE) project in Sweden. Budge told Proactive that, under the terms of the MoU, GMAB will supply eudialyte mineral samples from the Norra Kärr deposit to Ascension. Ascension will carry out comprehensive laboratory analysis and metallurgical testwork using its proprietary processing technology. The collaboration is designed to assess both the technical and commercial feasibility of extracting and recovering rare earth elements—particularly heavy rare earth elements (HREEs)—from the HREE-bearing eudialyte mineralisation at Norra Kärr. The Evaluation Project will focus on several key workstreams, including detailed mineralogical and chemical analysis of the eudialyte samples to determine their composition, purity, and recovery potential. Testwork will also examine leaching behaviour and assess the suitability of the mineralisation for commercial-scale processing. In parallel, Ascension will work on developing preliminary processing concepts specifically tailored to the unique characteristics of the Norra Kärr deposit, alongside an evaluation of the overall commercial viability of rare earth extraction. Budge also shared with Proactive a significant near-term catalyst is the pending decision from Sweden’s mining inspectorate on a 25-year mining lease for Norra Kärr, following endorsements from two regional governments in December 2025. Budge described this lease as a potential "game changer" in terms of de-risking the project. Additionally, Leading Edge is making progress on its Romanian Bihor Sud project, where a Competent Person’s Report has been completed, potentially paving the way for new investment. #proactiveinvestors #leadignedgematerials #tsxv #lem #nasdaq #lemse #otcqb #lemif #NorraKarr #RareEarths #REE #HeavyRareEarths #HREE #CriticalMinerals #GreennaMineral #AscensionEarthResources #SwedenMining #Eudialyte #Metallurgy #MiningInnovation #StrategicPartnership #EnergyTransition #CleanTech #EuropeanResources #BatteryMaterials #SustainableMining