VANCOUVER, March 28, 2019 /CNW/ - Leading Edge Materials
Corp. ("Leading Edge Materials" or the
"Company") (TSXV: LEM) (OTCQB: LEMIF)
(Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) announces first quarter results
for the period ending January 31,
2019. All amounts in this release are in Canadian
dollars.
Leading Edge Materials activities during the reporting period
were in line with the Board's strategic roadmap to support and
benefit from the rapid roll out of transportation electrification
in Europe.
Of note, Leading Edge Materials completed additional
purification and spheronisation test work on graphite from the
Woxna mine in Sweden. Process data is now of a quality to
progress to a demonstration plant, the engineering and design for
which is now being completed. This demonstration plant will
allow engagement with customers by providing volumes of anode
materials that are adequate to be used within lithium ion battery
customer test circuits. The Woxna mine and processing
facility currently has all environmental, permitting, legal, title
and sociopolitical approvals in place and is production
ready.
In 2018 Leading Edge Materials initiated an Exploration Alliance
(the "Exploration Alliance") in Romania focused on the discovery and
development of lithium ion battery raw materials. Following
technical and commercial due diligence, Leading Edge Materials
established a local branch company ("LEM Romania") of which it is the majority
shareholder with the right to earn a 90% interest. LEM
Romania is owner of the 25.5 sq km (2,550 ha) Bihor Sud Prospecting
Permit in central western Romania. Bihor Sud lies within the
same intrusive belt and less than 400km north of the Timok
copper-gold project in Serbia. Other notable deposits in the
West Tethyan Metallogenic Belt include Skouries, Chelopech, Bor and
Majdanpek.
Staff and consultants to LEM Romania were active at Bihor Sud
during the reporting period, compiling historic data, sampling
historic mine waste dumps, completing preliminary ground geophysics
and soil sampling. Review of progress and results to date are
considered highly encouraging, and it is anticipated that LEM
Romania shall proceed to Exploration License application across
prospective areas.
The Company continues to be an active participant in the EU
Battery Alliance, a forum comprised of more than 50 of Europe's strongest corporate voices within the
emerging lithium ion battery sector, plus numerous support and
government agencies.
As announced on January 23, 2019,
Mr Blair Way resigned as CEO,
President and Director of Leading Edge Materials and its
subsidiaries effective January 31,
2019. Mr Mark Saxon, Director,
has been named interim CEO and President.
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
2019
|
Fiscal
2018
|
Fiscal
2017
|
Three Months
Ended
|
January
31,
2019
$
|
October
31,
2018
$
|
July
31,
2018
$
|
April
30,
2018
$
|
January
31,
2018
$
|
October
31,
2017
$
|
July
31,
2017
$
|
April
30,
2017
$
|
Operations
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenses
|
(850,681)
|
(1,151,305)
|
(697,426)
|
(665,364)
|
(1,976,066)
|
(843,952)
|
(598,339)
|
(661,022)
|
Other
items
|
1,602
|
39,448
|
(7,721)
|
32,508
|
39,641
|
75,938
|
(85,392)
|
(59,749)
|
Comprehensive
loss
|
(849,079)
|
(1,111,857)
|
(705,147)
|
(632,856)
|
(1,936,425)
|
(768,014)
|
(683,731)
|
(720,771)
|
Basic and
diluted
loss per
share
|
(0.01)
|
(0.01)
|
(0.01)
|
(0.01)
|
(0.02)
|
(0.00)
|
(0.01)
|
(0.01)
|
Financial
Position
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Working
capital
|
1,438,895
|
960,707
|
1,369,748
|
2,041,550
|
2,698,150
|
3,490,760
|
4,430,469
|
3,980,145
|
Total
assets
|
35,766,406
|
35,075,446
|
36,132,517
|
36,139,745
|
36,902,593
|
37,915,728
|
39,267,743
|
38,320,958
|
Total non-current
liabilities
|
(8,515,027)
|
(8,306,212)
|
(8,902,310)
|
(8,157,203)
|
(8,204,190)
|
(8,330,321)
|
(9,557,984)
|
(8,967,308)
|
Results of Operations
Three Months Ended January 31,
2019 Compared to Three Months Ended October 31, 2018
During the three months ended January 31,
2019 (the "Q1/2019") the Company reported a net loss of
$849,079 compared to a net loss of
$1,111,857 for the prior three months
ended October 31, 2018 (the
"Q4/2018"), for a decrease in loss of $262,778. The decrease in loss was
primarily attributed to general exploration work associated with
the exploration alliance in Romania in Q4/2018 and the recognition of the
initial common shares issued, at an ascribed amount of $173,410, under the share purchase
agreement.
Financial Condition / Capital Resources
The Company maintains its Woxna Graphite Mine on a
"production-ready" basis to minimize costs. The Company
currently has no significant budget allocated for the Norra Kärr or
Bergby projects. 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
During the 2019 period the Company completed a private placement
financing of 6,027,855 units at $0.28
per unit for gross proceeds of $1,687,800. The net proceeds from this
financing will be used for general corporate requirements.
Summary and Outlook
Despite weak investor sentiment in resource markets, Leading
Edge Materials successfully completed a modest financing during the
quarter, and progressed development and discovery activities on a
number of high merit projects.
To position the Company for the future, Leading Edge Materials'
commissioned an internal Strategic Review in January 2019, to compare corporate alternatives
to enable accelerated project execution and enhance project
portfolio value. The Strategic Review has thus far
highlighted that the Company's combination of discovery-stage and
development-stage assets may present competing requirements with
regard to operational structure, capital needs and investor
preferences. The Board therefore resolved to compare
opportunities for assets, including the potential to transition
Woxna graphite mine into a freestanding European company.
The Board emphasizes that any recommendation is predicated on
Leading Edge Materials continuing to hold significant exposure to
the success of the Woxna graphite mine as a future anode supplier,
while enabling resources to be allocated to progress discovery at
other projects within the portfolio. The Company will
disclose future developments with respect to the Strategic Review
process, and the Board cautions there is no assurance or guarantee
that any potential transaction identified by the Strategic Review
will be pursued.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Leading Edge
Materials Corp.
Mr. Mark
Saxon, Interim 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. LEM's
flagship asset is the Woxna Graphite production facility located in
central Sweden targeting the
supply of specialty materials for lithium ion battery
production.
Additional Information
The Company's condensed consolidated interim financial
statements for the three months ended January 31, 2019 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.
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 and may be contacted at +46 (0) 8 5030
1550.
This information was submitted by Leading Edge Materials for
publication, through the agency of the contact person set out
above, on March 28, 2019 at
1:30 p.m. Pacific time.
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 the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this news release.
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SOURCE Leading Edge Materials