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Leading Edge Materials Appeals Norra Karr Mining Lease Application Rejection to the Government Of Sweden
Vancouver, June 17, 2021 – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials” or the “Company”) (TSXV: LEM) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB: LEMIF) annou
About this update from Leading Edge Materials Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":" Vancouver, June 17, 2021 – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials” or the “Company”) (TSXV: LEM) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB: LEMIF) announces that it has submitted its full appeal to the Government of Sweden (the “Government”) against the rejection of its mining lease application for the Norra Karr REE project (the “Project”). As previously announced, on May 5th the Mining Inspectorate of Sweden (\"Bergsstaten\") rejected the mining lease application Norra Karr K nr1 with the motivation that since the Company had not acquired a Natura 2000 permit for the Project, they were not able to rule on the mining lease application. Bergsstaten in its rejection further relied on the fact that the Government had ruled in a similar matter in December 2020 regarding Boliden’s mining lease application for its Laver project. However, in January 2021 Boliden appealed the Government’s decision to the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden (the “SAC”) where the outcome is still pending. Leading Edge Materials is therefore appealing to the Government to cancel Bergsstaten’s rejection of the mining lease application and continue the evaluation of the application once the SAC has ruled whether a Natura 2000 permit should be a pre-condition for the granting of a mining lease or not. The Company wishes to point out that recently a majority of the Swedish parliament voted through a statement to the Government asking for a proposal for legislative change so that a Natura 2000 permit should not be required prior to the granting of a mining lease. Filip Kozlowski, CEO of Leading Edge Materials states \"As the Swedish mining industry is trying to navigate the uncertain procedural matters dominating permitting of important mining projects in Sweden, the green transition is accelerating in an unstoppable way and with it the demand for more secure and sustainable raw materials. We have a solution in Norra Karr which we are further improving through a revised design and the upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment report, and we will always continue to do our utmost to make this project a reality for the benefit of European industrial ecosystems and our shareholders. \" The Project is owned by the Company’s Swedish subsidiary which recently changed name from Tasman Metals AB to GREENNA Mineral AB to better reflect the nature of the Compa...