Name of the Project
Wheeler River uranium project.

Location
Northern Saskatchewan, Canada.

Project Owner/s
The project is a joint venture (JV) between uranium project developer Denison Mines (90%) and exploration and development company JCU (Canada) Exploration Company (10%).

Project Description
The project is the largest undeveloped uranium project in the eastern portion of the Athabasca basin.

A prefeasibility study has evaluated the potential economic merit of co-developing the Phoenix and Gryphon deposits.

The Phoenix high-grade deposit has been designed as an in situ recovery (ISR) mining operation, with associated processing to a finished product occurring at a plant to be built on site at Wheeler River. The Gryphon deposit has been designed as an underground mining operation using a conventional longhole mining approach, with mine production processed at the McClean Lake mill.

The Phoenix ISR and Gryphon underground operations have combined probable mineral reserves of 109.4-million pounds of uranium from 1.39-million tonnes comprising 59.7-million pounds of uranium from 141 000 t at 19.1% uranium for Phoenix, and 49.7-million pounds of uranium from 1.26-million tonnes at 1.8% uranium for Gryphon.

The mine life is estimated at 14 years, with average yearly production estimated at 7.8-million pounds of uranium.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Wheeler River has a pretax net present value (NPV), at an 8% discount rate, of $1.31-billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 38.7%, with a payback of about 24 months.

Phoenix has a pretax NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of $930.4-million and an IRR of 43.3%.

Gryphon has a pretax NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of $560.6-million and an IRR of 23.2%.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital costs are estimated at $322.5-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Preproduction activities are estimated to begin in 2021, assuming receipt of required regulatory approvals, with first production from the Phoenix deposit expected in 2024.

Initial construction at Gryphon is expected to start by 2026, with first production expected to be achieved in 2030.

Latest Developments
Denison Mines has announced a $75-million bought-deal funding initiative to fund the strategic acquisition of physical uranium that it intends to hold as a long-term investment to support the future financing of the Wheeler River uranium project.

The company has entered into an agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation as lead underwriter and sole book-runner, under which the underwriters have agreed to buy 68.2-million units of the company at $1.10 apiece.

Net proceeds of the offering will be used to buy uranium on the spot market, with a target of accumulating about 2.5-million pounds of uranium.

This will represent a sizeable portion of Denison's share of the C$290-million of initial capital costs for Wheeler River.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Denison Mines, tel +1416 979 1991, fax +1416 979 5893 or email info@denisonmines.com.