VANCOUVER, Sept. 20, 2018 /CNW/ - Leading Edge Materials
Corp. ("Leading Edge Materials" or the "Company")
(TSXV: LEM) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB:
LEMIF) announces its third quarter results for the period
ending July 31, 2018. All
references to dollar amounts in this release are in Canadian
dollars.
Work undertaken by Leading Edge Materials during the third
quarter of 2018 are in line with the Board's strategic roadmap to
support and benefit from the electrification of Europe. Key elements of the Company's ongoing
investment strategy include high value product development from the
Woxna graphite mine; increasing community engagement at the Norra
Karr rare earth element project while identifying project
improvements that reduce the environmental footprint; ongoing
discovery of lithium at the Bergby project and in the surrounding
region; and rapidly advancing various opportunities in cobalt
across Europe, including Finnish
and Romanian assets.
The Company is close to finalising test work to identify key
equipment for the design and install of a value adding
demonstration plant at the Woxna facility. This demonstration
plant will enable the Company to demonstrate the commercial scaling
of the process and produce samples of battery grade materials and
by products for customer evaluation and qualification.
The Company continues to be an active participant in the EU
Battery Alliance.
Selected Financial Data
The following selected financial information is derived from the
unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements of
the Company prepared in accordance with IFRS.
|
Fiscal
2018
|
Fiscal
2017
|
Fiscal
2016
|
Three Months
Ended
|
July
31,
2018
$
|
April
30,
2018
$
|
January
31,
2018
$
|
October
31,
2017
$
|
July
31,
2017
$
|
April
30,
2017
$
|
January
31,
2017
$
|
October
31,
2016
$
|
Operations
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenses
|
(697,426)
|
(665,364)
|
(1,979,241)
|
(843,952)
|
(598,339)
|
(661,022)
|
(669,396)
|
(2,060,555)
|
Other
items
|
(7,721)
|
32,508
|
42,816
|
75,938
|
(85,392)
|
(59,749)
|
(78,116)
|
63,761
|
Comprehensive
loss
|
(705,147)
|
(632,856)
|
(1,936,425)
|
(768,014)
|
(683,731)
|
(720,771)
|
(747,512)
|
(1,996,794)
|
Basic and diluted
loss per
share
|
(0.01)
|
(0.01)
|
(0.02)
|
(0.00)
|
(0.01)
|
(0.01)
|
(0.01)
|
(0.04)
|
Financial
Position
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Working
capital
|
1,369,748
|
2,041,550
|
2,698,150
|
3,490,760
|
4,430,469
|
3,980,145
|
3,582,767
|
2,436,641
|
Total
assets
|
36,132,517
|
36,139,745
|
36,902,593
|
37,915,728
|
39,267,743
|
38,320,958
|
36,893,309
|
36,037,751
|
Total non-current
liabilities
|
(8,902,310)
|
(8,157,203)
|
(8,204,190)
|
(8,330,321)
|
(9,557,984)
|
(8,967,308)
|
(7,942,687)
|
(8,072,937)
|
Results of Operations
Three Months Ended July 31,
2018 Compared to Three Months Ended April 30, 2018
During the three months ended July 31,
2018 ("Q3") the Company reported a comprehensive loss
of $705,147 compared to a
comprehensive loss of $632,856 for
the three months ended April 30, 2018
("Q2"), for an increase in loss of $72,291, primarily attributable to the
recognition of general prospecting exploration expenses incurred in
Romania of $91,044 in Q3.
Nine Months Ended July 31, 2018
Compared to Nine Months Ended July 31,
2017
During the nine months ended July 31,
2018 (the "2018 period") the Company reported a net
loss of $3,274,428, compared to a net
loss of $2,152,014 for the nine
months ended July 31, 2017 (the
"2017 period"), an increase in loss of $1,122,414. The increase in loss is
primarily attributed to the recognition of share-based compensation
of $1,168,525 on the granting of
stock options in the 2018 period. No stock options were
granted or vested in during the 2017 period.
Excluding share-based compensation, expenses increased by
$244,749, from $1,928,757 during the 2017 period to $2,173,506 during the 2018 period.
Financial Condition / Capital Resources
During the 2018 period the Company recorded a net loss of
$3,274,428 and, as at July 31, 2018, the Company had an accumulated
deficit of $25,942,467 and working
capital of $1,369,748. The
Company is maintaining its Woxna Graphite Mine on a
"production-ready" basis to minimize costs. The Company
currently has no significant budget allocated for the Norra Kärr
Project. Although the Company has sufficient funding to meet
anticipated levels of corporate administration and overheads for
the ensuing twelve months, it anticipates that it will need
additional capital to maintain current levels of research and
development, recommence operations at the Woxna Graphite Mine
and/or upgrade the plant to produce value added production.
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. Whether the Company can generate positive cash
flow and, ultimately, achieve profitability is uncertain.
These uncertainties may cast significant doubt upon the Company's
ability to continue as a going concern.
Financings
No financings were undertaken during the 2018 period. The
Company issued 400,000 common shares on the exercise of share
options for $156,000.
During the 2017 period the Company completed private placement
financings of 4,004,222 units at $0.45 per unit and 3,636,364 units at
$0.55 per unit for total gross
proceeds of $3,801,900. The net
proceeds from these financings were used to conduct test work
toward the production of high-purity graphite at the Woxna graphite
project, to further lithium and cobalt exploration activities and
for general corporate requirements. In addition, the Company
issued 526,916 common shares on the exercise of share options and
warrants for $232,491.
Summary and Outlook
At the Woxna Graphite Mine, the Company is focused on
optimization of the purification and shaping processes required to
convert low value graphite into high value battery-ready anode
material. Laboratory based work to date has produced
battery-ready anode materials by both chemical and thermal
purification methods yielding high quality graphite materials that
meets the electrochemical specifications of battery cell
manufacturers. Ongoing larger scale testing and lab work is
targeting process optimization of the Woxna flow sheet to define
equipment requirements to produce battery grade materials and
salable by-products. The research focus is directed towards
commercially proven process improvements which can be installed on
the Woxna mine site within existing operating permits.
In February 2018, the Company
announced participation as a raw material industry representative
within the EU Battery Alliance (the "Alliance"), which is
comprised of more than 50 of Europe's strongest corporate voices within the
emerging lithium ion battery sector, plus numerous support and
government agencies. The Company is the only potential supplier of
natural graphite anode material within the Alliance, which allowed
the Company's voice to be clearly heard with regards to the
sustainable supply of European raw materials.
Leading Edge Materials Strategic roadmap
Woxna Graphite's goal is to become the leading European producer
and supplier of sustainable graphite anode material for lithium ion
batteries, targeted at meeting the forecast growth in European
demand. The objective is to own and control a sustainable
production chain for anode material from mining through processing
to blending of customer specific products.
The Norra Karr project goals are directed towards increasing
community and government engagement to demonstrate the positive
aspects of the project. Ongoing technical optimisation of the
process is targeting as close to a zero-waste project as possible
to reduce the environmental footprint of the project.
The Swedish Lithium objectives are to undertake early stage
exploration work to identify similar deposits to complement the
Bergby Lithium project on a regional level. Ground based
prospecting work is underway this summer.
The Cobalt Project's objectives are to undertake data review,
combined with grassroots field work, to determine if further
exploration works are warranted. Currently focused on ground
based prospecting activities in Finland and both historic and ground based
activities in Romania.
The Company continues to seek out prospective battery material
projects in Europe and will
provide updates as information becomes available.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this release has been reviewed and
approved by Mr. Blair Way, B.S.
(Geology) M.B.A., a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining
and Metallurgy, the Company's President and CEO and a Qualified
Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
Additional Information
The Company's consolidated financial statements for the year
ended October 31, 2017 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.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Leading Edge
Materials Corp.
Mr. Blair Way, President and
CEO
About Leading Edge Materials
Leading Edge Materials is a Canadian public company focused on
production of high value critical raw materials for the European
market, with an operating base in the Nordic region, a region well
recognized for its promotion and investment in innovation. The
Company's flagship asset is the Woxna Graphite production facility
located in central Sweden,
targeting the supply of specialty materials for lithium ion battery
production. The Company's assets and research focus are towards the
raw materials for Li-ion batteries (graphite, lithium, cobalt);
materials for high thermal efficiency building products (graphite,
silica, nepheline); and materials that improve the efficiency of
energy generation (dysprosium, neodymium, hafnium). Investments are
linked to the global shift to low-carbon energy generation and
energy storage. Leading Edge Materials currently operates in four
divisions, Graphite, Lithium, Rare Earth and Cobalt. Mangold
Fondkommission AB is the Company's Certified Adviser ("CA")
as part of the listing requirements for Nasdaq First North.
Additional Information
Leading Edge Materials is listed on the TSXV under the symbol
"LEM" and Nasdaq First North Stockholm under the symbol "
LEMSE". Mangold Fondkommission AB is the Company's CA on
Nasdaq First North.
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
expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its
management, are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. Investors are 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,
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 policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
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SOURCE Leading Edge Materials