The Swedish government has granted Leading Edge Materials a 25-year mining lease for its Norra Kärr project in southern Sweden, clearing the way for what the company describes as Europe's first heavy rare earth mine and sending its shares up nearly 28% on the announcement
The exploitation concession followed a formal recommendation from Sweden's mining inspectorate endorsing development, with the government citing the project's strategic importance to both Sweden and the EU A prior study by the Geological Survey of Sweden confirmed Norra Kärr as one of Europe's richest rare earth deposits, with a particularly high proportion of heavy rare earths — terbium, dysprosium and yttrium — all essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence applications
