Mr. Kurt Budge reports

LEADING EDGE MATERIALS GRANTED 25-YEAR MINING LEASE FOR NORRA KARR HEAVY RARE EARTH ELEMENTS PROJECT

Leading Edge Materials Corp.'s wholly owned Swedish subsidiary, Greenna Mineral AB (GMAB), has been granted an exploitation concession -- 25-year mining lease -- for the Norra Karr heavy rare earth element project in Sweden.

The concession was granted by the Swedish government following a formal recommendation from the mining inspectorate (Sw. Bergsstaten), which submitted the application to the government for a final decision after all involved agencies had either endorsed the application or recommended approval.

The project's strategic importance to Sweden and the European Union was a decisive factor in the government's decision. The Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU) has confirmed that Norra Karr is one of Europe's richest rare earth element (REE) deposits, with a particularly high proportion of the most valuable heavy rare earth elements, including terbium, dysprosium and yttrium. With no REE production anywhere in the EU today, the government concluded that supplying Sweden and Europe with these critical raw materials -- essential for permanent magnets in electric motors and the green energy transition -- clearly outweighs competing land-use interests.

Chief executive officer comment

Kurt Budge, chief executive officer, commented: "This is a transformational moment for Norra Karr, for Leading Edge Materials and for European critical raw materials supply security. The government's decision affirms that this is a strategically important heavy rare earth deposit, located in a Tier 1 jurisdiction, with the capacity to supply all of Europe's annual dysprosium requirements alongside meaningful terbium and yttrium production -- materials that are indispensable to the energy transition and European industrial sovereignty.

"Our next steps will be to advance the environmental permitting, update the prefeasibility study and secure offtake agreements with partners who understand the strategic value of Norra Karr. With European supply chain resilience now a policy imperative, Leading Edge Materials is on track to develop Europe's first heavy rare earths mine.

"We recognize that local concerns exist alongside the broad European consensus on the need for domestic rare earth extraction, and we take those concerns seriously. Norra Karr will be developed to the highest environmental standards, in close dialogue with the local community, including those who remain skeptical of the project.

"The studies now under way will examine how mining can be developed in harmony with the local environment, and we will share our findings openly at every stage. Water protection and environmental stewardship are central to how we will build this project."

Government decision

The government has determined that the public interest in domestic REE supply is paramount. The regulatory framework is designed to work in stages, with this concession establishing the right to mine and environmental code permitting addressing the operational detail in the next stage. The company's approach throughout the permitting process has been to engage constructively with regulators and stakeholders. The company's commitment is to develop the most sustainable mining operation possible, and, in so doing, demonstrate responsible development practice.

Next steps

With the exploitation concession now granted, the company will progress with an updated prefeasibility study (PFS). In parallel, the company will advance the environmental permitting process and begin active engagement with potential offtake partners and financiers, with a view to securing the foundations for bringing Norra Karr into production. The company will also consider reapplying for strategic project designation under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act, which would provide a streamlined environmental permitting timeline and potentially greater access to European strategic financing.

A strategically critical project for Europe

Heavy rare earth elements -- dysprosium and terbium in particular -- are essential inputs for the high-performance permanent magnets used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, defence systems and advanced robotics. Europe is a major consumer of these materials but currently has no domestic production, relying almost entirely on imports from China, which controls approximately 60 per cent of global rare earth mining and over 90 per cent of downstream processing and separation.

This dependence was brought into sharp focus in April, 2025, when China introduced export controls on dysprosium, terbium and other heavy rare earth elements, triggering an immediate and severe divergence in pricing between Chinese and non-Chinese markets. European prices for dysprosium rose from approximately $280 (U.S.) per kilogram to $950 (U.S.) per kilogram, while terbium reached approximately $4,000 (U.S.) per kilogram in Europe compared with around $1,000 (U.S.) per kilogram in China -- a fourfold premium that underscores the acute vulnerability of European supply chains.

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act sets a target of sourcing at least 10 per cent of annual strategic raw material consumption from domestic extraction by 2030, yet Europe currently has no operating rare earths mine. Norra Karr has the potential to supply 100 per cent of Europe's annual dysprosium needs and meaningful quantities of terbium and yttrium, representing one of the most advanced and realistic solutions to that challenge.

Yttrium represents 34 per cent of the project's in situ total rare earth oxide (TREO) resource and has also emerged as a critical supply bottleneck following China's April, 2025, export controls. European spot prices for yttrium oxide increased significantly in 2025, reaching approximately $270 (U.S.) per kilogram compared with a Chinese FOB (free on board) price of approximately $11 (U.S.) per kilogram -- a price divergence that underscores Europe's complete absence of domestic yttrium supply.

The project's ratio of neodymium-praseodymium to dysprosium-terbium is just 2.5:1, meaning that, for every kilogram of NdPr produced, Norra Karr is expected to yield 0.4 kilogram of the far scarcer and higher-value DyTb. By comparison, the peer group average ratio is 38.5:1. While much of the global rare earth development pipeline is dominated by light rare earth projects that will add primarily NdPr supply to the market, Norra Karr offers direct, large-scale exposure to the heavy rare earth elements that are most constrained in supply and most urgently needed by European industry.

The 2021 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) outlined a 26-year operation producing an average of 5,340 tonnes per annum of mixed rare earth oxides (MREOs) -- including dysprosium, terbium, neodymium and praseodymium -- based on material representing approximately 30 per cent of the project's inferred resource of 110 million tonnes grading 0.5 per cent TREO. Byproducts include approximately 733,000 tonnes of nepheline syenite per annum, 10,200 tonnes of zirconium per annum and 525 tonnes of niobium oxides per annum. The PEA estimated an after-tax net present value (10 per cent) of $762-million 9 (U.S.), an internal rate of return of 26.3 per cent, and average annual EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $206-million (U.S.). These estimates were based on dysprosium and terbium prices of $486 (U.S.) per kilogram and $1,216 (U.S.) per kilogram respectively -- a fraction of current European market prices of approximately $950 (U.S.) per kilogram and $4,000 (U.S.) per kilogram. The PEA is preliminary in nature and is based on inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.

The strategic importance of heavy rare earth elements to Europe's industrial future has never been more apparent. As China's export controls have demonstrated, access to dysprosium, terbium and yttrium cannot be taken for granted -- and the consequences of supply disruption are severe. Norra Karr, now holding an exploitation concession, is key to addressing Europe's critical risk exposure.

Qualified person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release relating to the Norra Karr project has been reviewed and approved by Martin Pittuck MSc of SRK Consulting (U.K.) Ltd., a chartered engineer and member of the Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials, who is an independent qualified person under the terms of National Instrument 43-101 for REE deposits. SRK qualified persons are all independent as defined under NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Leading Edge Materials Corp.

Leading Edge Materials is a Canadian-listed company focused on developing critical raw material assets across the European Union. Its primary focus is the wholly owned Norra Karr heavy rare earth element project in Sweden -- one of the world's most strategically significant heavy rare earth deposits and among the few advanced-stage projects within the European Union capable of producing dysprosium, terbium and yttrium at meaningful scale. Situated in one of the globe's most politically and regulatory stable mining environments, Norra Karr is well positioned to contribute directly to the objectives of the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act, including the bloc's target of sourcing 10 per cent of its critical raw material consumption domestically by 2030. Beyond rare earths, the company also holds the Woxna graphite mine in Sweden -- a fully constructed and permitted facility -- as well as a 90-per-cent stake in the Bihor Sud nickel-cobalt exploration alliance in Romania.

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