Leading Edge Materials Reports Quarterly Results to April 30, 2020
Leading Edge Materials Reports Quarterly Results to April
30, 2020
VANCOUVER, BC
,
June 24, 2020
/CNW/ -
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, 2020
. All references to dollar amounts in this release are in Canadian dollars.
Three Months Ended
April 30, 2020
Compared to Three Months Ended
January 31, 2020
During the three months ended
April 30, 2020
("Q2") the Company reported a net loss of
$317,422
compared to a net loss
of
$407,304
for the three months ended
January 31, 2020
("Q1"), a decrease in loss of
$89,882
primarily attributed to a
foreign exchange gain of
$5,324
in Q2 compared to a foreign exchange loss of
$36,519
in Q1 and a decrease in general
administrative expenses from
$375,930
in Q1 to
$337,609
during Q2.
Six Months Ended
April 30, 2020
Compared to Six Months Ended
April 30, 2019
During the six months ended
April 30, 2020
(the "2020 period") the Company reported a net loss of
$724,726
, compared to
a net loss of
$1,373,964
for the six months ended
April 30, 2019
(the "2019 period"), a decrease in loss of
$649,238
. The
decrease in loss is primarily attributed to a
$708,891
decrease in expenses, from
$1,422,430
during the 2019 period to
$713,539
during the 2020 period partially offset by cost recoveries of
$35,873
recorded in the 2019 period.
Highlights during the quarter
The Company is maintaining its Woxna Graphite Mine on a "production-ready" basis to minimize costs and to ensure all
permit conditions are met. Ongoing development has been directed towards test work focused on the possible production
and modification of high purity graphite using thermal purification technologies for emerging high growth high value markets,
one such example being anode materials for the lithium-ion battery industry. Other potential high-value end-markets being
investigated are purified micronized graphite for metallurgical and electroconductive additives and purified large flake graphite
as a precursor for the production of expandable graphite suitable as a feed for graphite foils and fuel cell bipolar plates.
During the quarter, the Company announced promising results from the completion of a comprehensive mineralogical and
mineral liberation study on lithium-tantalum mineralized drill core from the 100% owned Bergby lithium project in central
Sweden
. The work was undertaken by Outotec Oyj at their Pori Research Centre in
Finland
and funded by EIT Raw
Materials under the LiRef project. The Company has identified potential for further exploration of the project and are
investigating the next appropriate steps.
Highlights after the quarter
In
May 2020
the Company announced changes to the Board of Directors and senior Management. Mr.
Michael Hudson
, Mr.
Mark Saxon
and Mr.
Filip Kozlowski
resigned as Directors and Mr.
Lars-Eric Johansson
, Mr.
Daniel Major
and Mr.
Eric Krafft
were appointed as new Directors. Concurrently, a change in senior Management was announced with the appointment of Mr.
Filip Kozlowski
as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"). Mr. Kozlowski replaced Mr.
Mark Saxon
, former Interim CEO and
President.
In the beginning of June, the Company received confirmation from the Mining Inspectorate of
Sweden
("Bergsstaten") that
the Norra Karr nr 1 exploration license has been extended for 5 years to
August 31, 2024
.
The tender process for the Bihor Sud exploration license in
Romania
is continuing to be on hold while an ongoing appeals
process between a competing bidder and the Romanian permitting authority is being processed by the courts. The Company
has been informed that a hearing in the case was held on
June 19, 2020
, upon where the case was adjourned to a next
hearing set for
July 17, 2020
.
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 COVID-19 crisis has left no industry unaffected
and in the near-term forecasts for the growth of for example electric vehicle sales have been lowered. At the same time
announced and planned lithium-ion battery production capacity in
Europe
is incrementally growing. Further on, as a response
to the crisis policy action is increasingly directed towards supporting the industries that contribute to a transition to a more
sustainable society, and at the same time the European Union and the US are accelerating measures to reduce reliance on
third countries such as
China
for the supply of critical raw materials.
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 2020
Fiscal 2019
Fiscal 2018
Three Months Ended
April 30,
2020
$
January 31,
2020
$
October 31,
2019
$
July 31,
2019
$
April 30,
2019
$
January 31,
2019
$
October 31,
2018
$
July 31,
2018
$
Operations
Expenses
(337,609)
(375,930)
(409,297)
(561,771)
(571,749)
(850,681)
(1,151,305)
(697,426)
Other items
20,187
(31,374)
(8,799,476)
27,101
46,864
1,602
39,448
(7,721)
Comprehensive loss
(317,422)
(407,304)
(9,208,773)
(534,670)
(524,885)
(849,079)
(1,111,857)
(705,147)
Basic and diluted loss per share
(0.00)
(0.00)
(0.09)
(0.01)
(0.01)
(0.01)
(0.01)
(0.01)
Financial Position
Working capital
499,883
711,727
132,551
518,129
929,183
1,438,895
960,707
1,369,748
Total assets
24,722,718
24,803,562
24,825,107
34,088,219
35,359,241
35,766,406
35,075,446
36,132,517
Total non-current liabilities
7,452,242
(7,154,761)
(7,701,324)
(7,876,382)
(8,637,726)
(8,515,027)
(8,306,212)
(8,902,310)
Financial Condition / Capital Resources
During the 2020 period the Company recorded a net loss of
$724,726
and, as at
April 30, 2020
, the Company had an
accumulated deficit of
$38,896,457
and working capital of
$399,883
. The Company is maintaining its Woxna Graphite Mine
on a "production-ready" basis to minimize costs. The Company anticipates that it does not have sufficient funding to meet
anticipated levels of corporate administration and overheads for the ensuing twelve months and 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 Kärr 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. 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. See also "COVID-19".
COVID-19
Recently, there was a global outbreak of a novel coronavirus identified as "COVID-19". On
March 11, 2020
the World Health
Organization ("WHO") declared a global pandemic. In order to combat the spread of COVID-19 governments worldwide
have enacted emergency measures including travel bans, legally enforced or self-imposed quarantine periods, social
distancing and business and organization closures. These measures have caused material disruptions to businesses,
governments and other organizations resulting in an economic slowdown and increased volatility in national and global equity
and commodity markets. The Company has implemented safety and physical distancing procedures, including working from
home where possible and ceased all travel, as recommended by the various governments. The Company will continue to
monitor the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, the duration and impact which is unknown at this time, as is the efficacy of
any intervention. It is not possible to reliably estimate the length and severity of these developments and the impact on the
financial results and condition of the Company and its operations in future periods.
Qualified Person
The qualified person for the Company's project, 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 contents of this
document.
Financial Information
The report for the third quarter ending
July 31, 2020
is expected to be published on or about
September 25, 2020
.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Leading Edge Materials Corp.
Filip Kozlowski
, CEO
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 and wind power that underpin the sustainability transition of society. The portfolio of
projects includes the 100% owned Woxna Graphite mine (
Sweden
), Norra Kärr HREE project (
Sweden
), Bergby lithium
project (
Sweden
) and the 51% owned Bihor Sud Nickel Cobalt exploration alliance (
Romania
).
Additional Information
The Company's unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended
April 30, 2020
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 24, 2020
at
2:30 PM
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
or by phone +46 (0) 8 5030 1550.
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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For further information:
Please contact the Company at: 1.604.685.9316, [email protected],
www.leadingedgematerials.com
CO: Leading Edge Materials
CNW 17:30e 24-JUN-20