Leading Edge Materials Reports Quarterly Results to April 30, 2021
Vancouver, June 23, 2021 – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials” or the “Company”) (TSXV: LEM) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB: LEMIF) announces second quarter results for the period ending April 30, 2021. All references to dollar amounts in this release are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified.
Highlights During and After the Quarter
During the three months ended April 30, 2021 the Company:
- Appointed Mr. Sanjay Swarup as new Chief Financial Officer on March 1, 2021
- Held its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 21, 2021, where shareholders voted in favour of setting the number of directors at three and for the re-election of all director nominees. In addition, shareholders also approved the ratification of the Company’s 10% rolling stock option plan and the appointment of D&H Group LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, as the auditors of the Company for the ensuing year and the authorization for the directors of the Company to fix their remuneration.
- On April 29, 2021, the company completed the sale to United Lithium Corp. (ULTH) of 100% of the issued and outstanding share capital of Bergby Lithium AB
Subsequent to April 30, 2021, the Company:
- On May 5, 2021, the Mining Inspectorate of Sweden decided to reject the mining lease application for the Norra Karr project. The Company subsequently appealed this decision to the Government of Sweden.
- The Company announced positive preliminary economic assessment results for its Woxna graphite anode project with US$317/US$248 million pre/post-tax NPV and 42.9%/37.4% pre/post-tax IRR on June 9, 2021.
- On June 21, 2021, the Company announced preliminary life cycle assessment results on the Woxna Graphite project demonstrating a potential 90% lower carbon footprint compared with currently dominating Chinese supply alternatives.
- The company changed the name of its subsidiary from Tasman Metals AB to GRENNA Mineral AB.
- The company has filed the documents for dissolution of its subsidiary ACP Akku Oy.
Three Months Ended April 30, 2021 Compared to Three Months Ended January 31, 2021
During the three months ended April 31, 2021 (“Q2”) the Company reported a net profit of $1,090,072 compared to a reported net loss of $668,278 for the three months ended January 31, 2021 (“Q1”), a decrease in loss of $1,758,351, mainly due to gain on sale of the Bergby Project amounting to $1,472,255.
Six Months Ended April 30, 2021 Compared to Six Months Ended April 30, 2020
During the six months ended April 30, 2021 (“2021 period”) the Company reported a net profit of $421,796 compared to a net loss of $724,726 for the six months ended April 30, 2020 (“2020 period”), a decrease in loss of $1,146,522. The decrease in loss was primarily attributed to the gain on sale of the Bergby Project.
Selected Financial Data
The following selected financial information is derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of the Company prepared in accordance with IFRS.
| Fiscal 2021 | Fiscal 2020 | Fiscal 2019 | ||||||
| Three Months Ended | April 30, 2021 $ | January 31, 2021 $ | October 31, 2020 $ | July 31, 2020 $ | April 30, 2020 $ | January 31, 2020 $ | October 31, 2019 $ | July 31, 2019 $ |
| Operations | ||||||||
| Expenses | (483,495) | (664,675) | (882,556) | (420,959) | (337,609) | (375,930) | (409,297) | (561,771) |
| Other items | 1,573,567 | (3,603) | 327,987 | (21,567) | 20,187 | (31,374) | (8,799,476) | 27,101 |
| Comprehensive profit/(loss) | 1,090,072 | (668,278) | (554,569) | (442,526) | (317,422) | (407,304) | (9,208,773) | (534,670) |
| Basic Profit/(loss) per share | 0.01 | (0.00) | (0.01) | (0.00) | (0.00) | (0.00) | (0.09) | (0.01) |
| Diluted profit/(loss) per share | 0.01 | (0.00) | (0.01) | (0.00) | (0.00) | (0.00) | (0.09) | (0.01) |
| Financial Position | ||||||||
| Working capital | 3,935,156 | 2,598,191 | 3,277,010 | 3,354,422 | 499,883 | 711,727 | 132,551 | 518,129 |
| Total assets | 29,133,933 | 28,759,753 | 27,218,052 | 27,832,104 | 24,722,718 | 24,803,562 | 24,825,107 | 34,088,219 |
| Total non-current liabilities | (8,620,700) | (9,154,787) | (7,053,874) | (7,486,123) | (7,452,242) | (7,154,761) | (7,701,324) | (7,876,382) |
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Financial Condition / Capital Resources
During the six months ended April 30, 2021, the Company recorded a net profit of $421,796 and, as at April 30, 2021 the Company had an accumulated deficit of $39,471,756 and working capital of $3,935,156. The Company is maintaining its Woxna Graphite Mine on a “production-ready” basis to minimize costs and is conducting ongoing research and development to produce higher specialty products. The Company anticipates that it has sufficient funding to meet anticipated levels of corporate administration and overheads for the ensuing twelve months however, it will need additional capital to provide working capital and recommence operations at the Woxna Graphite Mine and/or modernize the plant to produce value added production, to fund future development of the Norra Karr Property and complete the tendering process and, if successful, exploration activities in Romania. There is no assurance such additional capital will be available to the Company on acceptable terms or at all. In the longer term the recoverability of the carrying value of the Company’s long-lived assets is dependent upon the Company’s ability to preserve its interest in the underlying mineral property interests, the discovery of economically recoverable reserves, the achievement of profitable operations and the ability of the Company to obtain financing to support its ongoing exploration programs and mining operations. See also “COVID-19”.
During the six months ended April 30, 2021 the company has issued 493,109 shares due to exercise of options by option holders for gross proceeds of $95,348.
During fiscal 2020 the Company completed the following private placement financings:
(i) 18,000,000 units at $0.056 per unit for gross proceeds of $1,008,000; and
(ii) 32,000,000 units at a price of $0.11 per unit for gross proceeds of $3,520,000.
In addition, the Company issued 800,000 common shares on the exercise of warrants for $80,000. The net proceeds from these financings and warrant exercises have been designated to maintain the Company’s projects in Sweden and Romania and for general working capital and corporate purposes.
Outlook
The Company’s projects are linked to disruptive high growth industrial applications such as electromobility, renewable energy and energy storage that underpin the transition to a sustainable society. The fundamental drivers behind the Company’s strategy continue to show positive momentum. G7 leaders after their latest summit published a shared agenda outlining a commitment to a “green revolution” with the objective to cap the rise in global temperatures to 1.5oC and promising to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and halve emissions by 2030. On an EU level Commissioner Thierry Breton in a recent speech called on member states to identify critical raw material mining, processing and waste valorisation projects that can be operational by 2025, specifically mentioning critical raw materials like rare earths and natural graphite. The Commissioner further emphasized the economic, geopolitical, and moral reasons why sustainable mining in the EU should be developed.
The planned production capacity of lithium-ion batteries in Europe is continuously expanding. Examples like Northvolt’s recent capital raise of US$2.75bn to increase planned capacity at its Swedish battery factory from 40GWh to 60GWh, and subsequent announcement of an additional joint battery factory together with Volvo Cars for 50GWh shows the expected demand growth in Europe. In parallel an emerging theme is developing with a noteworthy potential misallocation of capital investment across the battery value chain. The planned capacity and associated capital investments in the downstream parts of the value chain has led to a point where expected future demand is close to being met. However, the situation is the complete opposite when looking at some of the upstream parts of the value chain where graphite and anode materials stand out as becoming the biggest supply gap. These raw materials need to come from somewhere in order for the battery factories to meet their production targets, and European supply alternatives would be a more resilient and sustainable solution.
We have demonstrated the potential viability and associated economic potential of our Woxna Graphite anode project through the recent release of the results from a preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”). The positive PEA results were subsequently complemented with the preliminary life cycle assessment results for the project showing a potential 90% reduction of carbon footprint when compared with current Chinese supply alternatives that dominate the market.
The upcoming finalization of the PEA for Norra Karr is targeted to provide the same demonstrated opportunity for Europe but for rare earths. The redesigned project in the PEA will form the basis for a renewed permitting process trying to leave the past history of rejections and appeals behind us and show a positive path forward for the project.
Qualified Person
The qualified person for the Woxna Graphite Project, Mr. Christopher Stinton, BSc (Hons), CEng MIMMM, being the lead PEA consultant and for the processing and infrastructure, has reviewed and verified the contents of this release relating to the Woxna Graphite project.
The qualified person for the Company’s projects, Mr. Mark Saxon, B.Sc. Hons (Geology), a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, technical adviser to the Company, has reviewed and verified the technical contents of this release.
Financial Information
The report for the quarter ending July 31, 2021, is expected to be published on or about September 27, 2021.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Leading Edge Materials Corp.
Filip Kozlowski, CEO
For further information, please contact the Company at:
info@leadingedgematerials.com
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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 batteries for electromobility and energy storage and permanent magnets for electric motors and wind power that underpin the clean energy transition towards climate neutrality. The portfolio of projects includes the 100% owned Woxna Graphite mine (Sweden), Norra Karr HREE project (Sweden) and the 51% owned Bihor Sud Nickel Cobalt exploration alliance (Romania).
Additional Information
The Company’s unaudited consolidated financial statements for the three months ended April 30, 2021 and related management’s discussion and analysis are available on the Company’s website at www.leadingedgematerials.com or under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
The information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact person set out above, on June 23, 2021, at 1.15pm 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
Certain information in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (collectively, “Forward-Looking Statements”). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, addressing activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are Forward-Looking Statements. Forward-Looking Statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “expect,” and “intend” and statements that an event or result “may,” “will,” “can,” “should,” “could,” or “might” occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-Looking Statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-Looking Statements are subject to a number of factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the Forward-Looking Statements including, among other things, the Company has yet to generate a profit from its activities; there can be no guarantee that the estimates of quantities or qualities of minerals disclosed in the Company’s public record will be economically recoverable; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; competition with other companies within the mining industry; the success of the Company is largely dependent upon the performance of its directors and officers and the Company’s ability to attract and train key personnel; changes in world metal markets and equity markets beyond the Company’s control; the possibility of write-downs and impairments; the risks associated with uninsurable risks arising during the course of exploration; development and production; the risks associated with changes in the mining regulatory regime governing the Company; the risks associated with tenure to the Norra Karr property; the risks associated with the various environmental regulations the Company is subject to; rehabilitation and restitution costs; the Woxna project has never defined a mineral reserve. On June 9, 2021, Leading Edge announced the results of an independent preliminary economic assessment for the development of Woxna (the "2021 PEA"), the full details of which will be included in a technical report which will be available on Leading Edge's website and under its SEDAR profile on or before July 23, 2021. The 2021 PEA is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issues, and dealings with non-governmental organizations. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the Forward-Looking Statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such Forward-Looking Statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such Forward-Looking Statements. Such Forward-Looking Statements has been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company’s business, operations and exploration plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Statements. Forward-Looking Statements are made as of the date hereof, and the Company does not undertake to update such Forward-Looking Statements except in accordance with 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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