Name of the Project
Wheeler River uranium project.

Location
Northern Saskatchewan, Canada.

Project Owner/s
Wheeler River Joint Venture (JV), comprising uranium project developer Denison Mines (90%), and exploration and development company JCU (Canada) Exploration Company (10%).

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

A prefeasibility study (PFS) 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 the successful recovery of uranium-bearing solution from the Phoenix ISR feasibility field test (FFT) under way at the Wheeler River project.

“This accomplishment reflects the culmination of several years of technical derisking and provides tangible validation for the company's selection of the ISR mining method for Phoenix in our 2018 Wheeler River prefeasibility study. With this result, Denison has truly showcased its industry leadership in bringing the low-cost ISR mining method to the high-grade uranium deposits of the Athabasca basin,” president and CEO David Cates has said.

The leaching phase of the FFT started in September and preliminary results received to date demonstrate the successful acidification of the test pattern and recovery of uranium through the ISR mining method. Several samples of recovered solution have been collected during the leaching phase and remain subject to full laboratory assay and analysis, which will generate additional detailed information about the performance of the FFT. 

Given the successful results of the FFT, lixiviant injection has ceased, and operators at the Phoenix FFT site are preparing to transition from the leaching phase of the FFT to the neutralisation phase, which is expected to be completed before the end of the year. The final phase of the FFT, which involves management of the recovered solution, is expected to start in mid-2023. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Wood PLC (independent lead author of the study).

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