Leading Edge Materials Corp. (CVE:LEM) shares rose more than 10% on Monday after the company said it had been granted a drilling permit for the company's 100%-owned Bergby lithium project by Swedish authorities.
Drilling equipment has been mobilized to site, and drilling is planned to commence within days. Lithium is the source for many new energy sources, such as lithium batteries and behind the drive towards electric cars, such as for Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA).
Bergby lies in central Sweden, 25 kilometres north of the town of Gavle, and is secured by three exploration licences that cover a total of 1,903 hectares.
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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 five km east of the Bergby project, a deepwater port where, until recently, a major wood chip and pulp mill operated.
This drilling program is the first ever to be undertaken at Bergby, with up to 25 diamond holes planned, comprising a combination of short holes to prospect beneath glacial soil cover and deeper holes to test the extent of the lithium-mineralized pegmatite.
Bergby is characterized by an extensive boulder field and outcrop of high-grade lithium mineralization. Fifteen samples taken from three outcrop areas returned Li2O (lithium oxide) averaging 1.71% and ranging from 0.01% to 4.65%; and Ta2O5 (tantalum pentoxide) averaging 133 parts per million (ppm) and ranging from 16 ppm to 803 ppm.
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 350 metres by 750 m.
"Our exploration at the Bergby lithium project is moving quickly, with drilling commencing this week. Very little historic exploration for lithium has been completed in Sweden, and we see Bergby as Leading Edge Materials' first step in testing high-quality lithium projects. I look forward to providing updates and data as the drill program progresses over the coming weeks," said Blair Way, Leading Edge’s president and chief executive officer.
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 (electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) 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.
Leading Edge shares were up 10.3% at C$0.75 on Monday.