Leading Edge Submits Drilling Application for Bergby

 
Leading Edge Materials Corp. (TSXV:LEM) (OTCQB:LEMIF) has submitted application documents to Swedish authorities to undertake drilling at the company’s 100-per-cent-owned Bergby lithium project.
Bergby lies in central Sweden, 25km north of the town of Gavle, and is secured by three exploration licenses that cover a total of 1,903 Ha. The site is close to infrastructure, with major roads, rail and power supply passing immediately adjacent to the claim boundaries. The village of Norrsundet lies 5km east of the Bergby project, a deep-water port where until recently a major wood chip and pulp mill operated.
The proposed drilling will be the first program ever undertaken at the Bergby site, and is anticipated to be completed during the first half of 2017. Permission has been requested to drill up to 40 diamond holes, comprised of a combination of short holes to prospect beneath glacial soil cover and deeper holes to test the extent of the lithium mineralized pegmatite.
As previously reported (see press releases dated 19th Oct 2016 and 1st December 2016), Leading Edge Materials has discovered both an extensive boulder field and located outcrops with high grade lithium mineralization at Bergby. Fifteen samples taken from three outcrop areas returned Li 2 O (lithium oxide) averaging 1.71% and ranging from 0.01% to 4.65%; and Ta 2 O 5 (tantalum pentoxide) averaging 133 ppm and ranging from 16 ppm to 803 ppm (see Table 1). Samples included representative chip samples, composite samples and selective grab samples depending on outcrop quality, and were taken from three sites across an area of approximately 350m x 750m.
Blair Way, President and CEO, stated “The Bergby lithium project was a new discovery by Leading Edge Materials geologists in mid-2016, and we have moved quickly to be in a position to drill within less than 12 months. With high grade lithium mineralization in both boulders and outcrop over a broad area, we are looking forward to the flow of drilling results. The Company continues to seek quality assets that align with our strategy to become a leading supplier of battery materials. With a fully permitted graphite mine, and both lithium and cobalt properties, our expanding asset base will allow Leading Edge Materials to play a pivotal role in the rapidly growing lithium ion battery market.”
Europe is playing a leading role in the transition to low-carbon energy generation from renewable sources, and the efficient storage of that energy. Electric mobility (EV’s, HEV, PHEV’s) and stationary electricity storage are dependent on high purity graphite, lithium and cobalt, where Leading Edge Materials is an active European player. Lithium has a strong and expanding market, due to the essential role it plays in lithium-based batteries for the automotive, consumer product and stationary electrify storage industries. The high electrochemical potential of lithium results in the high power to weight ratio that is essential for efficient mobile batteries.
Samples submitted by Leading Edge Materials Corp were analyzed by the ME-MS81 and Li-OG63 technique by ALS Chemex Ltd’s laboratories in Pitea, Sweden and Vancouver, Canada, where duplicates, repeats, blanks and known standards were inserted according to standard industry practice. The qualified person for the Company’s exploration projects, Mark Saxon, Director of Leading Edge Materials, a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy has reviewed and verified the contents of this release.
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