Vancouver, May
17, 2022 – Leading Edge
Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials”
or the “Company”) (TSXV: LEM)
(Nasdaq First North: LEMSE)
(OTCQB: LEMIF) (FRA:
7FL) is pleased to report the signing of the Bihor Sud
Exploration License (the “License”) between the Company’s 51% owned
local joint-venture subsidiary LEM Romania SRL (“LEMR”), and the
National Agency for Mineral Resources (“NAMR”). The exclusive
license was awarded to the Company after having been selected as
the winning bid in a competitive tender round and has now been
published in the official gazette of Romania.
The License perimeter covers a 25 square kilometer area (the
“Project”) in the Northern Apuseni Mountains of Transylvania. The
Apuseni Mountains are located in the northern extension of the
Western Tethyan Metallogenic Belt, one of the world’s more
prominent orogenic belts that hosts numerous significant past
producing mines and newly discovered mineral deposits. LEMR applied
for the License with the goal to expand on indications of
high-grade cobalt, nickel and polymetallic mineralization collected
in the framework of its earlier prospecting license covering the
same area. The project has excellent potential to enable a more
secure and sustainable supply of these key battery raw materials
from within the European Union.
Filip Kozlowski, CEO of the Company states: “We are extremely
pleased to finally having been granted the exploration license for
the Bihor Sud project. When we started looking at the Project back
in 2018 there was real excitement around what new discoveries this
well-mineralized historic mining area could offer. Surging demand
from the battery industry for high-energy density battery metals
such as nickel and cobalt, combined with increasing geopolitical
risks, have pushed prices higher for both metals over the last
year. European battery production capacity is starting to come into
production and there is an urgent need to develop more secure and
sustainable raw material supply alternatives within the region.
Romania’s geological potential is well-understood in the industry,
and the positive support we have experienced from national and
local authorities throughout the permitting process has been very
encouraging. We look forward to immediately commence on an already
planned detailed exploration program together with our experienced
local JV partner, and hope to demonstrate what potential this
opportunity can offer for all stakeholders and shareholders.”
Located approximately 90 km south-east from Oradea which is the
administrative capital of Bihor County, the Project lies within the
Upper Cretaceous and Neogene Carpathian magmatic arcs which extend
from Turkey to Hungary and are host to several well-known mines and
mineral deposits such as the Timok-Bor-Majdanpek copper-gold zone,
Skouries and Chelopec. The Northern Apuseni Mountains have
documented high grade skarn and carbonate replacement mineral
deposits and historic production of Cu, Mo, Ag, Au, Zn, U and Pb
associated with Tethyan Arc intrusions. Within the License area,
there is a significant amount of historical mine works including a
substantial former underground uranium mine which stopped
production in the 1990s. Approximately 15 km northwest from the
License, The Company’s local joint-venture partner operates a
high-quality dolomite mine, the Baita Skarn Mine, which has
historic mining of Cu, Mo, Bi, Au, Ag, Zn, Pb and W. The UK company
Vast Resources recommenced mining operations at its polymetallic
Baita Plai mine in 2020 which is located approximately 9 km
northwest from the License.
(Figure 1: Map showing the location of the Valea Leucii (Bihor
Sud) exploration license. Sources: National Geographic, Esri,
DeLorme, HERE, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO,
NOAA, iPC, and S. Bordea, R. Dimitrescu, GH. Mantea, A. Stefan, J.
Bordea, M. Bleahu, C. Costea)
Under the prospecting license, staff and consultants to LEMR
compiled historic data, sampled historic mine waste dumps,
completed preliminary ground geophysics and soil sampling. The
success of the prospecting work greatly benefited from using the
services of Radioactive Mineral Magurele SA, a state owned company
under the Ministry of Energy, which has decades of experience and
expertise for exploration activities locally and has all necessary
permits to perform those according to the highest technical and
safety standards. Historic mining tapped Co-Ni mineralization
deposited at the top of a regional carbonate level and overlying
dark schist in the form of replacement bodies and dissemination.
Within a 5 x 2 km zone, grab samples were taken from 7 waste dumps
near gallery mouths, mostly disseminated mineralization in dark
schist and carbonate. Both, cobalt and nickel grades in these
rocks, are often in the percent-range, increasing strongly as
stringers occur (see Figure 2), which locally lead to massive
Co-Ni-ore pockets.
(Figure 2: Stringers of Co-Ni mineralization in low grade
metamorphic sediments.)
(Figure 3: Oxidized Co-Ni mineralization yielding greenish
colours in low-grade metamorphic dark sediments.)
Results of the prospecting work are highly encouraging, which
led to application for the exclusive exploration license. LEMR’s
bid in the tender round was evaluated based on technical and
financial merits, with substantial credit given to the work
completed under the prior prospecting permit that ultimately led to
LEMR becoming the auction winner.
As part of the exploration license bid, a detailed exploration
work program (the “Work Program”) was submitted to NAMR. The Work
Program presents planned activities over 5 years and associated
budgets. A detailed plan for each year needs to be submitted to
NAMR for approval, with the first annual work program being
mandatory and subsequent yearly plans proposed based on results
from exploration work during previous years. Leading Edge Materials
is funding all work according to the JV Agreement (see below).
The submitted work program for the first year covers;
- Geological surface and underground mapping;
- Geophysical surveys;
- Geochemical surface trenching, channel and soil sampling;
- Surface and/or underground drilling;
- Historic drill hole surveying;
- Assaying and mineralogical analysis;
- Reviewing historical documentation which becomes available
pursuant to having been granted the License;
- Technical planning for re-opening of historical mining
galleries; and
- Land, environmental and other local permits required to
commence exploration work.
Joint Venture Background
In 2018 the Company entered into a share purchase agreement (the
“SPA”) with a local Romanian arm’s length party, Remat, to acquire
an initial 51% interest in LEMR which was the holder of a
prospecting permit covering the License perimeter. The Company,
Remat and LEMR also entered into a shareholder joint venture
agreement (the “JV Agreement”) as announced on August 9, 2018 (see
news release). Pursuant to the JV Agreement, Leading Edge Materials
will be transferred an additional 39% ownership interest in LEMR
(for an aggregate 90% ownership) triggered by the filing on SEDAR
of a positive Feasibility Study technical report. Under the JV
Agreement Leading Edge Materials has agreed to issue common shares
in the Company upon achieving certain milestones on the Project,
such as the granting of an exploration license, exploitation
license, documentation of historic mineral resource estimates
meeting certain Ni-Co and/or Ag-base metal resource tonnage
thresholds, the filing of a NI43-101 compliant technical report,
such a report meeting certain Ni-Co and/or Ag-base metal resource
tonnages, and the filing of a positive NI43-101 compliant
Feasibility Study.
Qualified Person
Martin S. Oczlon, PhD Geo, CEng MIMMM, a consultant to Leading
Edge Materials and Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101, has
reviewed and verified the technical content of this press
release.
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
www.leadingedgematerials.com
The Company will attend the VRIC
conference in Vancouver on May 17th
and 18th and invites to
meet us in booth 1025.
Follow usTwitter:
https://twitter.com/LeadingEdgeMtlsLinkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/leading-edge-materials-corp/
About Leading Edge MaterialsLeading 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 InformationThe information was
submitted for publication through the agency of the contact person
set out above, on May 17, 2022, at 10:00 am 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
This news release may contain statements which constitute
“forward-looking information” under applicable Canadian securities
laws, including statements regarding 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 information. Investors
are cautioned that any such forward-looking information is not a
guarantee of future business activities and involves risks and
uncertainties, and that the Company’s future business activities
may differ materially from those in the forward-looking information
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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