TORONTO, June 23,
2022 /CNW/ - Denison Mines
Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX: DML) (NYSE
American: DNN) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a
Participation and Funding Agreement (the "Participation Agreement")
with Kineepik Métis Local #9 ("KML"), which expresses Denison's and
KML's mutual commitment to the co-development of an agreement
supporting the advancement of the in-situ recovery ("ISR")
uranium mining operation proposed at the Company's 95% owned
Wheeler River Uranium Project ("Wheeler River Project"). The
Participation Agreement builds on an existing letter agreement
between Denison and KML with respect to the support of KML's
contributions to, and participation in, the Federal and Provincial
Environmental Assessment process for the Wheeler River Project.
View PDF version
Additionally, Denison and KML have entered into an
Exploration Agreement (the "Exploration Agreement") in respect of
Denison's exploration and evaluation activities within KML's land
and occupancy area.
KML represents the Métis rights holders who live and practice
traditional activities in the vicinity of the Wheeler River Project
and the municipality of the Village of
Pinehouse (which is located 225km south of the Key Lake
mill, on Highway 914). Métis Citizens of KML have substantive ties
to the territory in the Athabasca
Basin region that includes Denison's Wheeler River Project and
several exploration properties located between the McArthur River
mine and Key Lake mill.
The Participation Agreement and Exploration Agreement were
signed in the Village of Pinehouse
during the annual Elders Gathering festivities, which are
being held this year during the
week of National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21st. Following the formal
signing, David Cates, President
& CEO of Denison, commented that "Denison
values the long-standing relationships it has built with KML and
the community of Pinehouse, and is
deeply respectful of the community's
thriving culture, deep-rooted traditions and aspirations for
further economic growth and
prosperity."
Mike Natomagan, President of KML,
remarked that "We are extremely pleased by Denison being
proactive and look forward to creating a mutually beneficial
reality for Denison's
activities, which exceeds all of
our expectation and combined efforts. We are so grateful to build a
partnership together with Denison. From our perspective, this is
what it is all about."
David Cates added, "These agreements
demonstrate Denison's commitment to advancing reconciliation
through taking action and reflect the principles expressed in our
Indigenous Peoples Policy. We view these
agreements with KML as
foundational to the sustainable advancement of our various
operations in the Athabasca Basin
region, as they establish the
ways in which we
will continue to work
together positively with KML
on both the advancement of the Wheeler River Project and our
extensive exploration portfolio."
Exploration Agreement
The Exploration Agreement establishes a progressive and
sustainable basis for maintaining a cooperative and mutually
beneficial relationship between the
parties, which respects the rights and interests of
KML, while supporting Denison's exploration and evaluation
activities in KML's land and occupancy area. The Exploration
Agreement includes a framework for predictable
information-sharing and permitting processes, environmental
protection and monitoring, as well as the sharing of benefits to
support KML community development initiatives. Through this
cooperative approach, Denison is able to obtain consent
for its exploration and evaluation activities within KML's
land and occupancy area.
Participation Agreement
The Participation Agreement, together with other arrangements
already in place, supports the advancement of the ISR uranium
mining operation proposed for the Wheeler River Project through the
Federal and Provincial Environmental Assessment process, and
outlines a mutually agreeable process and funding to support the
co-development of a further shared prosperity agreement with
respect to the project's future development. The joint vision of a
future shared prosperity agreement is to outline the benefits to
KML, as well as the characteristics of a positive
legacy, that can be associated with the sustainable future
development of the Wheeler River Project.
About KML
KML peoples are considered Woodland Cree, Woodland Dene, and
Woodland Métis, although historical documents
indicate that members of KML came from a diverse range of
Métis, First Nations, and other
backgrounds.
The Northern Village of
Pinehouse ("NVP") is located within the
land and occupancy area of the
Indigenous people of KML. The lands surrounding
Missinippi (Churchill River) watershed have been used for
gathering food, shelter, and material supplies since time
immemorial.
KML and NVP residents routinely enjoy significant employment
and business opportunities for projects that occur in KML
territory, because of their combined and collaborative
efforts. Great pride is taken in the work ethic of KML and
NVP people to add value to the community and province. With
community owned businesses, profits have been used to
build increased energy efficient housing, youth
infrastructure such as a local hockey arena, and
a 12-unit Elders housing facility.
About Denison
Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with
interests focused in the Athabasca
Basin region of northern Saskatchewan,
Canada. The Company has an effective 95% interest in its
flagship Wheeler River Uranium Project, which is the largest
undeveloped uranium project in the infrastructure rich eastern
portion of the Athabasca Basin
region of northern Saskatchewan. A
PFS was completed for Wheeler River in late 2018, considering the
potential economic merit of developing Phoenix as an ISR operation and the Gryphon
deposit as a conventional underground mining operation.
Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership
interest in the McClean Lake Joint Venture, which includes several
uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill, which is
contracted to process the ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll
milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest Main and
Midwest A deposits and a 66.90% interest in the Tthe Heldeth Túé
('THT,' formerly J Zone) and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake
property. The Midwest Main, Midwest A, THT and Huskie deposits are
located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill. Denison's
exploration portfolio includes further interests in properties
covering approximately 297,000 hectares in the Athabasca Basin region.
Through its 50% ownership of JCU, Denison holds additional
interests in various uranium project joint ventures in Canada, including the Millennium project (JCU,
30.099%), the Kiggavik project (JCU, 33.8123%) and Christie Lake (JCU, 34.4508%).
Denison is also engaged in post-closure mine care and
maintenance services through its Closed Mines group (formerly
Denison Environmental Services), which manages Denison's reclaimed
mine sites in the Elliot Lake
region and provides related services to certain third-party
projects.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this news release
constitutes 'forward-looking information', within the meaning of
the applicable United States and
Canadian legislation, concerning the business, operations and
financial performance and condition of Denison. Generally,
these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as 'potential', 'plans',
'expects', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'estimates', 'forecasts',
'intends', 'anticipates', or 'believes', or the negatives and/or
variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain
actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or
'will be taken', 'occur' or 'be achieved'.
In particular, this news release contains forward-looking
information pertaining to the following: expectations with respect
to the agreements and intended cooperation with KML with respect
thereto; intentions regarding engagement with respect to the
Wheeler River project, including participation funding;
exploration, development and expansion plans and objectives,
generally; and expectations regarding its joint venture ownership
interests and the continuity of its agreements with its partners
and third parties.
Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and
estimates of management as of the date such statements are made,
and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity,
performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
For example, the modelling and assumptions upon which the work
plans for exploration and/or the Wheeler River Project are based
may not be maintained after further work is completed. In addition,
Denison may decide or otherwise be required to discontinue
exploration, testing, evaluation and development work if it is
unable to maintain or otherwise secure the necessary resources
(such as testing facilities, capital funding, regulatory approvals,
etc.). Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this
forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be
given that these expectations will prove to be accurate and results
may differ materially from those anticipated in this
forward-looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks
and other factors that could influence forward-looking events,
please refer to the factors discussed in Denison's Annual
Information Form dated March 25, 2022
or subsequent quarterly financial reports under the heading 'Risk
Factors'. These factors are not, and should not be construed as
being exhaustive.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information
contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this
cautionary statement. Any forward-looking information and the
assumptions made with respect thereto speaks only as of the date of
this news release. Denison does not undertake any obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the
date of this news release to conform such information to actual
results or to changes in Denison's expectations except as otherwise
required by applicable legislation.
Follow Denison on Twitter @DenisonMinesCo
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/denison-announces-execution-of-agreements-with-kineepik-metis-local-9-301573768.html
SOURCE Denison Mines Corp.