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MINING INSPECTORATE RECOMMENDS MINING LEASE APPROVAL FOR Leading Edge Materials' NORRA KÄRR HEAVY RARE EARTH ELEMENTS PROJECT - SUBMITS TO THE SWEDISH GOVERNMENT FOR A FINAL DECISION
Vancouver, March 10, 2026 Leading Edge Materials Corp. ("Leading Edge Materials" or the "Company") (TSXV: LEM,OTC:LEMIF) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB: LEMIF) (FRA: 7FL) is pleased to announce that The Swedish Mining Inspectorate (Sw. Bergsstaten) has chosen to submit the Company's 100% owned Swedish subsidiary Greenna Mineral AB's ("GMAB") application for an Exploitation Concession for Norra Kärr to the Swedish Government for a final decision.
The Mining Inspectorate itself recommends in its decision that the application (Norra Kärr K nr 2) should be approved. This follows the positive consultation responses from the County Administrative Boards ("CABs") of Jönköping and Östergötland in December last year.
Key Facts
- Norra Kärr is a globally significant source of HREEs with the economic advantage of valuable industrial minerals, specifically nepheline syenite. Today, Europe relies almost exclusively on China for its imports of HREEs. China dominates the rare earth elements supply chain.
- Developing Norra Kärr is of great 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 the region and establish supply chain resilience.
- The Swedish Geological Survey ("SGU") discovered Norra Kärr in the 1900s and, in 2011, designated it as being of National Interest due to the significance of its rare earth elements ("REEs") for Sweden and Europe.
- With the respect to the Company's application for an Exploitation Concession, SGU in its capacity as an expert authority for issues relating to geology and minerals in Sweden has stated that the deposit at Norra Kärr is very important for Sweden's and the EU's supply of rare earth metals, and that Norra Kärr is one of Europe's richest deposits for these minerals – especially with regard to HREEs.
- Norra Kärr is estimated to produce approximately 248 tonnes of Dysprosium and 36 tonnes of Terbium oxides annually over an initial 26-year mine life - covering only 30 percent of the currently defined resource.
- Dysprosium and Terbium are HREEs that are essential to European manufacturing of permanent magnets, which in turn are crucial for the development of components for electric vehicles, wind turbines and military applications.
For more detailed information on the Norra Kärr refer to the Preliminary Economic Assessment dated August 2021:
https://www.leadingedgematerials.com/_files/ugd/f9767f_bd96a0d7d9c04b95b43b18a1ab157d98.pdf
Kurt Budge CEO comments:
"We are pleased that all government agencies involved in this permitting process so far have recommended approval of our application. Developing Norra Kärr is essential to building European supply chain resilience for Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREE), which is crucial for Swedish and European security as well as the energy transition.
We note that while there may be differing views on the specific conditions to be included in the Exploitation Concession, these details can be worked through and addressed constructively and quickly. With the Mining Inspectorate confirming that all requirements are met and the CABs having previously endorsed the application, we are excited to progress our work to fully permit and develop Norra Kärr."
___________________________________________________________________________________.
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
Vancouver Corporate Head Office at: 778-686-5357
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 defence applications. The Company's portfolio of projects includes the 100% owned Woxna Graphite mine (Sweden), 100% owned Norra Kärr Heavy Rare Earth Elements 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 10 March 2026, at 11:00 AM 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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