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Leading Edge Materials Announces Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment Results for its Woxna Graphite Anode Project With US$317m Pre-Tax NPV and 42.9% Pre-Tax IRR
Vancouver, June 09, 2021 – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials” or the “Company”) (TSXV: LEM) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB: LEMIF) is pl
About this update from Leading Edge Materials Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":" Vancouver, June 09, 2021 – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials” or the “Company”) (TSXV: LEM) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) (OTCQB: LEMIF) is pleased to announce the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (\"PEA\" or the “Report”) for the development of its 100%-owned Woxna Graphite mine and vertically integrated anode material production located in Sweden (“Woxna” or the “Project”). The PEA was prepared by Zenito Limited. All figures in the PEA are US dollars unless otherwise specified. Main PEA Highlights The PEA indicates the potential viability of a Swedish operation producing battery grade graphite anode material utilizing an existing graphite mine and concentrator with the addition of a value-add processing facility offsite; The proposed process route in the PEA uses a thermal purification process which, combined with access to low cost hydropower offers a low carbon footprint for the Project to be further demonstrated in an upcoming life cycle assessment (LCA) report. The PEA also focused on improved waste management process for tailings further improving the sustainability ambitions of the Project; The Report shows a financially robust Project with average annual EBITDA of $49m and a pre-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 42.9%; The PEA utilizes one out of four deposits currently owned by Woxna under granted exploitation concessions, where two of the other deposits also have indicated and inferred mineral resource estimates offering potential upside for further expansion in future development or studies; Project Financial Highlights Pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV) of $317m using an 8% discount rate Pre-tax IRR of 42.9% Accumulated project revenues of $1,425m Average annual EBITDA of $49m Initial Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) of $121m Pre-tax Payback Period from first production of 2.24 years Operating cost per tonne of coated spherical purified graphite (CSPG) of $2,519 after revenue credit from micronized graphite product Operational Highlights Life of Project (LOP) is 19 years Life of Mine (LOM) is 15 years LOM average annual plant feed of 159,967 tonnes LOM average annual CSPG product 7,435 tonnes LOM average annual micronized graphite product 8,421 tonnes LOM average strip ratio of 3.7:1 Filip Kozlowski, CEO of Leading Edge Materials states “I am pleased to share the exciting results from the ...