Leading Edge Materials Moves to 90% Share of Romanian Exploration JV with Comprehensive Underground Exploration Programme Planned at Avram Iancu

LEADING EDGE MATERIALS MOVES TO 90% SHARE OF ROMANIAN EXPLORATION JV WITH COMPREHENSIVE UNDERGROUND EXPLORATION PROGRAMME PLANNED AT AVRAM IANCU

• Leading Edge Materials increases its interest in the Romanian Exploration JV to 90%, reflecting eight years of sustained investment in the Bihor Sud Exploration Licence.
• New investment discussions underway to directly fund LEM Romania and the upcoming work programme at Avram Iancu.
• Underground exploration targets Polymetallic and Cobalt-Nickel mineralisation visible over an area of approximately 2 km by 300 metres.
  
  

Vancouver, May 26, 2026 – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials” or the “Company”) (TSXV: LEM) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB: LEMIF) (FRA: 7FL) has increased its stake in the Bihor Sud Exploration Licence joint venture to 90%, following an amendment to the shareholders joint venture agreement (“JVA”) originally entered into with REMAT Group Management SRL ("REMAT") on August 9, 2018. The amended shareholders JVA recognises the Company's significant investment in the licence over the past eight years.

The Company is in discussions to secure new investment into LEM Romania (“LEMR”) to advance underground exploration at Avram Iancu, part of the Bihor Sud Polymetallic Exploration Project ("Bihor Sud"). Initial work will focus on three principal galleries — G11, G12, and G20 — on the northern bank of the Arieșul Mic Valley.

Avram Iancu is situated approximately 3 km north of the G2 and G7 galleries where the Company has been focusing its exploration to date and represents an extensive mineralised zone parallel to those outlined in G2. The planned June/July 2026 programme is designed to systematically characterise a mineralised zone, estimated at approximately 2 km along strike and 300 metres in width, outcropping on both sides of the valley.

Addison Mining Services Limited (“Addison”) has been contracted by LEMR to design and supervise the exploration programme for Avram Iancu, model results and estimate potential exploration targets. Addison were previously commissioned by LEM to prepare a Competent Persons Report (“CPR”) and independent assessment of Bihor Sud; the CPR has been filed on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (“SEDAR”).

Figure 1: Map showing the three main galleries (G11, G12 and G20) on the northern side of the Arieșul Mic Valley, with gallery entrances marked by purple arrows.

Programme Overview

The exploration plan potentially covers three galleries accessible individually from surface, possibly connected through inclined planes linking the former workings (pending safety review). The vertical extent of the planned programme spans over 200 metres, from the highest stope in G20 down to the lower-level stopes beneath G11, with gallery elevations recorded at each entrance to confirm vertical access — for example, G20 at 1,189.5 metres above sea level (“ASL”) and G11 at 1,118 metres.

Channel Sampling Methodology

Channel samples will be collected at approximately one-metre intervals along gallery walls wherever visible mineralisation is present and dependent on lithology. The planned programme aims to sample as many areas as possible in a given timeframe, collecting between 500 to 1000 samples across the polymetallic horizon and the underlying carbonate-hosted cobalt-nickel zone.   Samples will be collected, logged, and dispatched to ALS Laboratories.

Mineralisation and Target Definition

Site investigations have confirmed the presence of visible mineralisation remaining in situ within multiple stopes. Notably, Stope No. 4 of G16 shows mineralisation of unknown extent. The mineralised body, delineated with purple lines on the project maps, is estimated to extend approximately 2 km along strike and 300 m in width, outcropping on both sides of the valley.

LEMR intends to lead field expeditions on the opposite side of the valley, including galleries G16 and G14, to confirm the tabular horizon extends horizontally for more than 1.5 km, in addition to its established position relative to Dibarz and G2.

Figure 2. Example of an incline between galleries.

Kurt Budge CEO comments:

"The amendment to the shareholders joint venture agreement is a direct reflection of the work and capital Leading Edge Materials has committed to Bihor Sud since 2018, and we are pleased to see that recognized through our increased 90% stake.

With discussions to attract new investment into LEM Romania progressing, we are focused on unlocking the next phase of value at Avram Iancu. The commencement of a structured underground exploration programme across Avram Iancu is a major step forward, and the extent of visible mineralisation already identified across a two-kilometre corridor gives us strong confidence in the project's potential.

With a systematic, high-volume sampling campaign soon to begin and samples being sent to ALS for independent assay, we expect to make solid progress towards defining a more detailed picture."

Qualified Person’s Statement and Technical Sign off

The technical information in this announcement, which relates to the LEM Bihor Sud Project, Romania, is based upon and fairly represents technical information and data reviewed by independent consultant Mr. Lewis Harvey, MSc, MAIG, Principal Geologist for Addison Mining Services.

Mr. Harvey has affiliation to a professional organisation, sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation, the type of deposit under consideration and the activity undertaken to qualify as a Qualified Person as defined by Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).
for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.

The technical information in this announcement is also in accordance with The CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves (“CIM Definition Standards”) and reported in accordance with the National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).

Mr. Harvey has reviewed and verified the technical information that forms the basis of and has been used in the preparation of this announcement, including all sampling and analytical data, and analytical techniques where applicable.

Mr. Harvey consents to and has approved the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.
___________________________________________________________________________________.

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

Corporate Head Office (Vancouver, Canada): 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 90% owned Bihor Sud Nickel Cobalt exploration alliance (Romania).

About Addison Mining Services (“AMS”)

Established in 2014, Addison Mining Services Limited is a geological and mining consultancy providing high-quality consulting and contractor services to the global minerals industry.  AMS expertise spans a wide range of mineral projects including base and precious metals, industrial minerals and energy resources.

AMS specialises in mineral resource and reserve estimation, exploration program design and implementation, procedural audits and best practice operating procedure development, Competent Person’s studies and reporting to JORC2012 and NI 43-101 standards.

Additional Information

The information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact person set out above, on May 26, 2026, at 23:30 PM (Vancouver, Canada).

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

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