TORONTO, Jan. 22,
2024 /CNW/ - Denison Mines
Corp. ("Denison") (TSX: DML) (NYSE American: DNN) is
pleased to announce the award to Wood Canada Limited ("Wood"), part
of the leading global consulting and engineering firm Wood PLC, of
a contract for the completion of detailed design
engineering for the In-Situ Recovery ("ISR") mining project planned
for Denison's flagship Phoenix
uranium deposit ("Phoenix"). View PDF version
Phoenix and the nearby
Gryphon uranium deposit ("Gryphon") are part of the
Wheeler River Uranium Project ("Wheeler River" or the
"Project"), which is the largest undeveloped uranium mining project
in the infrastructure-rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region in northern
Saskatchewan, Canada. Denison has
an effective 95% ownership interest in Wheeler River and is the
Project operator.
An NI 43-101 Feasibility Study was completed by Wood in
2023 to evaluate the use of the ISR mining method at Phoenix ("Phoenix Feasibility Study"). The
results of the Phoenix Feasibility Study reflected several years of
technical de-risking efforts successfully completed by Denison
and demonstrated very robust base-case after-tax (adjusted)
economics – including a Net Present Value ("NPV") of
$1.56 billion (100% basis), an
Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 90.0%, and an NPV to
initial capital cost ratio in excess of 3.7 to 1. The base-case in
the Phoenix Feasibility Study assumed uranium selling prices in the
range of USD$66.53 to USD$70.11 per pound
U3O8. The current spot price for uranium
is approximately USD$105 per pound U3O8,
reflecting an increase of over 50% from the average of the
base-case pricing assumptions used in the Phoenix Feasibility
Study of USD$68.99 per
pound U3O8.
Following completion of the Phoenix Feasibility Study, Denison's
Board of Directors approved the continuation of efforts to
advance Phoenix towards
a final investment decision and, in late 2023, the
Management Committee of the Wheeler River Joint Venture approved a
budget for the applicable 2024 expenditures. Detailed engineering
design constitutes a significant portion of the work remaining
to advance Phoenix to the point
where a decision can be made to proceed to construction and,
ultimately, production.
Kevin Himbeault, Denison's Vice
President of Operations, commented, "In
recognition of Wood's performance
leading the Phoenix Feasibility Study,
competitive pricing, and
alignment with our bid
evaluation process, we
are pleased to announce the award of
a detailed
design engineering contract to
Wood. Maintaining continuity through
completion of the Phoenix Feasibility Study,
front-end engineering design, and
detailed design
allows us to build
on our combined
knowledge and working
relationship to deliver an
engineering package that will ultimately support the construction
and operation of the first ISR
uranium mining operation in the Athabasca Basin."
The scope of the facilities to be designed by Wood under this
contract is extensive, including (i) site civil earthworks and
distribution of utility piping throughout the main project site,
(ii) electrical power distribution on site, (iii) surface piping
and services for the mine wellfield, (iv) the process plant and
related infrastructure, (v) operations complex, (vi)
maintenance and related buildings, (vii)
metallurgical and analytical laboratories, and (viii)
site-wide communications systems.
Based on the currently anticipated scopes of work, the detailed
design engineering contract with Wood is estimated to be up to
approximately $16 million in value,
with the scope of work planned to commence in Q1'2024 and to
potentially continue into H1'2025.
About Wheeler
River
Wheeler River is the largest undeveloped uranium project in
the infrastructure-rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region, in northern
Saskatchewan. The project is host
to the high-grade Phoenix and
Gryphon uranium deposits, discovered by Denison in 2008 and 2014,
respectively, and is a joint venture between Denison (90% and
operator) and JCU (Canada)
Exploration Company Limited ("JCU", 10%). In
August 2023, Denison filed a
technical report summarizing the results of (i) the feasibility
study completed for ISR mining of the high-grade Phoenix uranium deposit and (ii) a cost update
to the 2018 Pre-Feasibility Study for conventional underground
mining of the basement-hosted Gryphon uranium deposit. 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 have advanced significantly, with licensing
in progress and a draft Environmental Impact Statement submitted
for regulatory and public review in October
2022. More information is available in the technical report
titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the
Wheeler River Project Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada" dated
August 8, 2023 with an effective date
of June 23, 2023, a copy of which is
available on Denison's website and under its profile
on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR at
www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
About Denison
Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with
interests focused in the Athabasca
Basin region of northern Saskatchewan,
Canada. In addition to Denison's effective 95%
interest in its flagship Wheeler River Uranium Project,
Denison's interests in Saskatchewan include a 22.5% ownership
interest in the McClean Lake Joint Venture, which comprises several
uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill that 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 67.41% interest in the Tthe Heldeth Túé
("THT") 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.
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, 33.8118%) and Christie Lake (JCU, 34.4508%).
Denison's exploration portfolio includes
further interests in properties covering ~285,000
hectares in the Athabasca Basin
region.
Qualified Persons
The technical information contained in this release has been
reviewed and approved by Mr. Chad
Sorba, P.Geo, Denison's Vice President Technical Services
& Project Evaluation, and Mr. Andrew
Yackulic, P. Geo., Denison's Vice President Exploration,
each of whom is a Qualified Person in accordance with the
requirements of Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Mineral
Disclosure Standards ("NI 43-101").
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this press release
constitutes "forward-looking information", within the meaning of
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
and similar 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 following: the anticipated services Wood will be contracted
to provide and the objectives to be achieved with the engagement of
Wood, and the anticipated costs thereof; the interpretation of the
Phoenix Feasibility Study and expectations with respect thereto,
including estimates of NPV, IRR, capital costs and uranium prices;
and Denison's percentage interest in its properties and its plans
and agreements with its joint venture partners.
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, performance or
achievements of Denison to be materially different from those
expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. 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 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 27, 2023 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.
Cautionary Note to United
States Investors Concerning Estimates of Mineral Resources and
Mineral Reserves:
This news release may use the terms 'measured', 'indicated'
and 'inferred' mineral resources. United
States investors are advised that such terms have been
prepared in accordance with the definition standards on mineral
reserves of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and
Petroleum referred to in NI 43-101 and are recognized and required
by Canadian regulations. 'Inferred mineral resources' have a great
amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their
economic and legal feasibility. Under Canadian rules, estimates of
inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or
other economic studies. United
States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any
part of an inferred mineral resource exists and/or will ever be
upgraded to a higher category, nor assume that all or any part of
measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted into
mineral reserves.
Effective February 2019, the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC") adopted amendments to its
disclosure rules to modernize the mineral property disclosure
requirements for issuers whose securities are registered with the
SEC under the Exchange Act and as a result, the SEC now recognizes
estimates of "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral
resources" and "inferred mineral resources". In addition, the SEC
has amended its definitions of "proven mineral reserves" and
"probable mineral reserves" to be "substantially similar" to the
corresponding definitions under the CIM Standards, as required
under NI 43-101. However, information regarding mineral resources
or mineral reserves in Denison's disclosure may not be comparable
to similar information made public by United States companies.
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SOURCE Denison Mines Corp.