TORONTO, Feb. 27,
2025 /PRNewswire/ - Denison Mines
Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX:
DML) (NYSE American: DNN) is pleased to announce that the Canadian
Nuclear Safety Commission ("CNSC") Registrar has set the
schedule for the CNSC public hearing ("Hearing") for the
Wheeler River Uranium Project ("Wheeler River", or the
"Project"). The Hearing is scheduled to be held in two parts
(October 8, 2025, and December 8 to 12, 2025) and represents the final
step in the federal approval process for the Project's
Environmental Assessment ("EA") and Licence to Prepare and
Construct a Uranium Mine and Mill ("Licence"). View PDF
Version
Based on this schedule, if the CNSC makes a prompt decision to
approve the Project following the completion of the Hearing, the
Company expects to be able to commence site preparation and
construction activities for the Phoenix In-Situ Recovery
("ISR") project in early 2026.
The announcement of the Hearing schedule follows the successful
completion of multiple key regulatory milestones in late 2024,
including (i) completion of the technical review phase of the
federal EA approval process in November, (ii) acceptance by the
CNSC of the Company's final Environmental Impact Statement
("EIS") for the Project in December, and (iii) the CNSC's
determination of the sufficiency of Denison's Licence application,
also in November. These accomplishments indicate that the CSNC
staff support the advancement of the Project and are transitioning
their efforts to prepare an evidence-based summary report for the
Commission members that will govern the Hearing and render their
decision on the EA and Licence once the Hearing is
complete.
David Cates, President and CEO of
Denison commented, "The scheduling of the Hearing and
acceptance of the final federal EIS by the CNSC represent
significant additional achievements for Denison in our efforts to
obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to commence construction
of the Phoenix ISR uranium mining operation.
Importantly, obtaining clarity on the Hearing schedule
significantly reduces uncertainty regarding the timeline for
Federal project approvals and allows our operations team to
finalize our construction planning efforts with greater precision.
With the potential to commence construction in early 2026, we
expect to be able to maintain our target of achieving first
production from Phoenix by the
first half of 2028."
About Denison
Denison is a leading uranium mining, development, and
exploration company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern
Saskatchewan, Canada. Denison 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. In mid-2023, the
Phoenix feasibility study was
completed for the Phoenix deposit
as an ISR mining operation, and an update to the previously
prepared 2018 Pre-Feasibility Study ('PFS') was completed for
Wheeler River's Gryphon deposit as a conventional underground
mining operation. Based on the respective studies, both deposits
have the potential to be competitive with the lowest cost uranium
mining operations in the world. Permitting efforts for the planned
Phoenix ISR operation commenced in 2019 and several notable
milestones were achieved in 2024 with the submission of federal
licensing documents and the acceptance of the final form of the
project's Environmental Impact Statement by the Province of
Saskatchewan and the Canadian
Nuclear Safety Commission.
Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership
interest in the McClean Lake Joint Venture ('MLJV'), which includes
unmined uranium deposits (planned for extraction via the MLJV's
SABRE mining method starting in 2025) and the McClean Lake uranium
mill (currently utilizing a portion of its licensed capacity to
process the ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling
agreement), plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest Joint Venture
('MWJV')'s Midwest Main and Midwest A deposits, and a 69.44%
interest in the Tthe Heldeth Túé ('THT') and Huskie deposits on the
Waterbury Lake Property ('Waterbury'). The Midwest
Main, Midwest A, THT and Huskie deposits are located within 20
kilometres of the McClean Lake mill. Taken together, Denison has
direct ownership interests in properties covering ~384,000 hectares
in the Athabasca Basin
region.
Additionally, through its 50% ownership of JCU (Canada) Exploration Company, Limited ('JCU'),
Denison holds interests in various uranium project joint ventures
in Canada, including the
Millennium project (JCU, 30.099%), the Kiggavik project (JCU,
33.8118%) and Christie Lake (JCU,
34.4508%).
In 2024, Denison celebrated its 70th year in uranium mining,
exploration, and development, which began in 1954 with Denison's
first acquisition of mining claims in the Elliot Lake region of northern Ontario.
Follow Denison on Twitter @DenisonMinesCo
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
Certain information contained in this press 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 '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', 'be
achieved' or 'has the potential to'.
In particular, this press release contains forward-looking
information pertaining to the Company's expectations with respect
to the Hearing and the EA and Licensing process, development plans
for Wheeler River and the proposed ISR operation for the
Phoenix deposit; expectations
regarding Denison's joint venture ownership interests; and
expectations regarding the objectives and continuity of its
agreements with third parties. Statements relating to 'mineral
reserves' or 'mineral resources' are deemed to be forward-looking
information, as they involve the implied assessment, based on
certain estimates and assumptions that the mineral reserves and
mineral resources described can be profitably produced in the
future.
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 results of the Hearing may not be as anticipated.
In addition, Denison may decide or otherwise be required to
discontinue development work if it is unable to maintain or
otherwise secure the necessary approvals or resources (such as
testing facilities, capital funding, 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 the Company's Annual Information Form dated
March 28, 2024 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 press 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 press release. Denison does not undertake any obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the
date of this press release to conform such information to actual
results or to changes in Denison's expectations except as otherwise
required by applicable legislation.
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SOURCE Denison Mines Corp.
