Leading Edge Materials Reports Quarterly Results to Apr 30 2018

VANCOUVER, June 21, 2018 /CNW/ - Leading Edge Materials Corp. ("Leading Edge Materials") or (the Company") (TSXV: LEM) (OTCQB: LEMIF) announces second quarter results for the period ending Apr 30, 2018.  All amounts in this release are in Canadian dollars.

Wok undertaken by Leading Edge Materials during the second quarter 2018 is 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 Kärr 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 conducting testwork to identify key equipment to design and install a demonstration plant at the Woxna Graphite Mine to produce samples of battery grade materials for customer evaluation and demonstrate the commercial scaling of the processes. The testwork on both spheronising and purification continues through the next quarter.

Furthermore, 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. 

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.

Results of Operations

Three Months Ended April 30, 2018 Compared to Three Months Ended January 31, 2018

During the three months ended April 30, 2018 ("Q2") the Company reported a comprehensive loss of $632,856 compared to a comprehensive loss of $1,936,425 for the prior three months ended January 31, 2018 ("Q1"), for a decrease in loss of $1,303,569, primarily attributable to the recognition of share-based compensation of $1,168,525 on the granting of stock options in Q1.  No stock options were granted or vested in Q2.

Financial Condition / Capital Resources

During the 2018 period the Company recorded a net loss of $2,569,281 and, as at April 30, 2018, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $25,237,320 and working capital of $2,041,550.  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 may need additional capital to recommence operations at the Woxna Graphite Mine and/or upgrade the plant to produce value added materials.  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 340,000 common shares on the exercise of share options for $132,600.

During the 2017 period the Company completed private placement financings of 4,004,222 units at $0.45 per unit for gross proceeds of $1,801,900.  In addition, the Company issued 242,500 common shares on the exercise of share options for $112,200.  The Company allocated the net proceeds to conduct testwork toward the production of high-purity graphite at the Woxna Graphite Mine, to further lithium and cobalt exploration activities and for general corporate requirements. 

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 regard to the sustainable supply of European raw materials.

Qualified Person

The qualified person for the Company's project, 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, has reviewed and verified the contents of this document.

Additional information

The Company's condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the six months ended April 30, 2018 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

This is information that Leading Edge Materials Corp. is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on June 21, 2018, at 6:30 PM Vancouver time.

On behalf of the Board,

"Blair Way"                                                                                                                        
Blair Way, President & 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 recognised 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. LEM'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 operate in four divisions, Graphite, Lithium, Rare Earth and Cobalt.   Remium Nordic AB is the company's Certified Adviser ("CA") as part of the listing requirements for Nasdaq First North.

About Nasdaq First North

Nasdaq First North is regulated as a multilateral trading facility, operated by the different exchanges within Nasdaq Nordic (Nasdaq First North Denmark is regulated as an alternative marketplace). It does not have the legal status as an EU-regulated market. Companies at Nasdaq First North are subject to the rules of Nasdaq First North and not the legal requirements for admission to trading on a regulated market. The risk in such an investment may be higher than on the main market.

Important information

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.

Forward-Looking Information. This news release may contain forward-looking statements and information based on current expectations. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Such statements include but are not limited to, the Company's expectations regarding the benefits of the listing on the Nasdaq First North;  the Company's ability to fulfil the customary conditions set out in the conditional acceptance letter from Nasdaq Stockholm AB; unexpected geological conditions; the Company's expectations regarding exploration activities to advance critical material projects for energy storage markets, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government authorities.  Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there are risk factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.

SOURCE Leading Edge Materials