MINING LEASE
APPLICATION SUBMITTED FOR NORRA KÄRR
Vancouver,
December 8, 2024 – Leading Edge Materials
Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials” or
the “Company”) (TSXV: LEM)
(Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB:
LEMIF) announces that an application for an Exploitation
Concession (“Bearbetningskoncession”) 25-year mining lease has been
submitted to the Mining Inspectorate of Sweden (“Bergsstaten”) for
the Norra Kärr Heavy Rare Earths (HREE) Project.
Norra Kärr had previously been granted a
Bearbetningskoncession, in 2013, when the Company proposed that
mining and all processing activities be located at the Norra Kärr
site.
The Norra Kärr project was fundamentally
redesigned in the 2021, following feedback from stakeholders,
completely decoupling mining and chemical processing activities,
with the latter relocated away from the mine site. The redesign was
the basis for the Preliminary Economic Assessment completed in 2021
(“PEA 2021”). A reminder of the financial highlights from the
PEA2021 are included later in this news release.
The Bearbetningskoncession application is
accordingly for the quarrying operation that is proposed at the
Norra Kärr site, producing a HREE concentrate and the industrial
mineral nepheline syenite. Downstream chemical processing of the
HREE concentrate will take place at an industrial park alongside
similar industries, with Luleå being a preferred location.
When compared to the Pre-feasibility Study in
2015 (“PFS 2015”), the PEA 2021 reduced the area for operations at
Norra Kärr by 65%, reduced water usage by up to 30%, and increased
the conversion of excavated materials to products from ~ 1% to at
least 60%. The Company plans to conduct testwork in Q1 2025 to
further investigate the market potential of both nepheline syenite
and aegirine. Aegirine is classified as waste in the current design
but could be a saleable product.
Kurt Budge, Chief
Executive Officer, states:
“Climate change, war
and geopolitics are making critical raw materials headline news,
with the Green Transition in Europe now sharing coverage with
security and defense. The need for robust critical raw material
supply chains is an imperative for the region.
In 2014, a report by
The European Rare Earths Competency Network (ERECON) titled
Strengthening The European Rare Earths Supply-Chain stated that
‘The development of new sources of heavy rare earths outside of
China and greater recycling must [therefore] remain an urgent
priority…’.
The Report, now a
decade old, stated that ‘With adequate funding and permitting,
mining could begin [at Norra Kärr] before 2020 and secure European
REE supply for decades’.
The Norra Kärr journey
started long before this, with its discovery by the Geological
Survey of Sweden (SGU) in the early 1900s. In more recent times,
SGU designated Norra Kärr a mineral deposit of national interest in
July 2011, linked to its potential for providing a supply of rare
earth elements to Sweden and Europe. At the time, the SGU stated
"REEs are of great importance in modern society and access to these
elements is very limited within Europe. Norra Kärr is a very
important project from a material supply point of view, both for
Sweden as well as for Europe. The mineral resource at Norra Kärr is
the only NI 43-101 compliant REE resource in mainland Europe".
The new Bearbetningskoncession application is
for a project with significantly reduced environmental impact and
significantly increased sustainability. Proposed activities at the
Norra Kärr site will be similar in nature to any other quarrying
operation and downstream chemical processes will be removed from
the mining site.
In August, the Company
submitted an application to the European Commission (EC) for
Strategic Project designation for Norra Kärr. Norra Kärr can make a
significant contribution to Sweden and the EU’s preparedness,
greater self-reliance and resilience when it comes to HREE
requirements and the strategically important industries that depend
on them.
Looking ahead, 2025 is
shaping up to be a transformational year for Norra Kärr, with
decisions to be taken on Strategic Project status and thereafter
the Bearbetningskoncession. The Company is also planning for the
start of Pre-feasibility.”
Recap –
Preliminary Economic Assessment 2021 (PEA)
The PEA was prepared
by SRK (UK) Ltd. (“SRK”) and all figures in the PEA are in US
dollars unless otherwise specified. SRK re-evaluated
the Project with the objective to improve resource utilization,
project sustainability and substantially minimize its environmental
footprint compared to the design in the PFS 2015.
Financial
Highlights:
- Pre- and
post-tax Net Present Value (NPV) of $1,026M and $762M using a 10%
discount rate
- Pre- and
Post-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 30.8% and 26.3%
- Accumulated LoM
project revenues of $9,962M
- Average annual
EBITDA of $206M
- Initial Capital
Expenditures (CAPEX) of $487M
- Pre-tax Payback
Period from first production of 5.1 years
- Life of mine
(LOM) average gross basket price per kg of separated mixed REO
product at $53
- Operating cost
per kg of separated mixed REO product at $33 including toll
separation charges
- By-product
revenue per kg of separated mixed REO product $19
Operational Highlights:
- LOM is 26
years
- LOM average
annual:
- Mining rate of
1,150,000 tonnes
- Strip ratio of
0.32
- TREO 5,341
tonnes
- Main magnet rare
earth oxides (MagREO) (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb) 1,005 tonnes
- Nepheline
Syenite co-product 732,885 tonnes
- Zirconium
dioxide co-product 10,200 tonnes
- Niobium oxide
product 525 tonnes
PEA 2021 news release:
https://leadingedgematerials.com/leading-edge-materials-announces-positive-preliminary-economic-assessment-results-for-its-norra-karr-ree-project-with-us1026m-pre-tax-npv10-and-30-8-pre-tax-irr/
Norra Kärr’s
Relevance to the EU:
Norra Kärr is an
upstream asset that could be the EU’s first step in HREE primary
production and the establishment of a secure, resilient, and
sustainable value chain for REEs; helping to strengthen the EU’s
self-reliance and to reduce strategic dependency on China.
There is a railway
within 30 kilometers of the Norra Kärr site. The location provides
uninterrupted road and rail access to Baltic ports and onto
European markets where both REE refining capacity and REE enabled
technology consumers are located.
EU demand for rare
earth metals is expected to increase six-fold by 2030. The EU is
almost 100% dependent on China for HREEs1.
A report by The
European Rare Earths Competency Network (ERECON) in 2014 titled
Strengthening The European Rare Earths Supply-Chain stated that
'The development of new sources of heavy rare earths outside of
China and greater recycling must therefore remain an urgent
priority for Europe.'2
The report, now a
decade old, stated that 'With adequate funding and permitting,
mining could begin [at Norra Kärr] before 2020 and secure European
REE supply for decades.' Norra Kärr is one of two 'best known'
advanced stage REE projects in Europe, which given size and grade
could potentially contribute to Europe’s security of supply of REE
for decades to come.
In May 2023, the
European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA), in the report titled
Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion - A European Call for
Action3, identified over 50 investment cases targeting materials
for energy storage and conversion across Europe and beyond, and a
total investment need exceeding EUR 15 billion. Norra Kärr was one
of the projects identified, that combined with the others, if
realized, would make a significant contribution to the EU’s needs
by 2030. The report acknowledged that there is limited primary
production within the EU and for some materials related to energy
storage, the EU relies almost entirely on imports.
Critical Raw
Materials Act:
On 18 March 2024, the
European Council adopted the regulation to establish a framework to
ensure a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials,
known as the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).
The CRMA introduces
clear deadlines for permit procedures for EU extracting projects,
allows the Commission and member states to recognize a project as
strategic, requires supply-chain risk assessments, requires member
states to have national exploration plans and ensures the EU’s
access to critical and strategic raw materials through ambitious
benchmarks on extraction, processing, recycling and diversification
of import sources.
On 23 May 2024, a call
for Strategic Projects as defined by the CRMA was opened. The CRMA
designates strategic projects to increase EU capacity to extract,
process and recycle strategic raw materials and diversify EU
supplies from third countries. Strategic raw materials are crucial
for the success of the green and digital transitions as well as the
resilience of the defense and aerospace sectors.
Sources:
1https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/critical-raw-materials/
2https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/10882
3https://erma.eu/new-roadmap-for-a-value-chain-on-raw-materials/
On behalf of the Board of
Directors,Leading Edge Materials
Corp.
Kurt Budge, CEO
For further information,
please contact the Company
at:1.604.685.9316info@leadingedgematerials.comwww.leadingedgematerials.com
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 and wind power
that underpin the sustainability transition of society. The
portfolio of projects includes the 100% owned Woxna Graphite mine
(Sweden), Norra Kärr Heavy Rare Earth Element project (Sweden),
Bergby lithium 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 December 08, 2024, at 11:30 PM 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”. Mangold Fondkommission AB is the Company’s Certified
Adviser on Nasdaq First North and may be contacted via
email CA@mangold.se or by phone +46 (0) 8 5030 1550.
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
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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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