Uranium developer Denison Mines has announced the signing of a sustainable communities investment agreement with the municipalities of the Northern Village of Beauval, the Northern Village of Île-à-la Crosse, the Northern Hamlet of Jans Bay, and the Northern Hamlet of Cole Bay, in Canada.
The agreement acknowledges that the municipalities are located in northern Saskatchewan and have a desire to work together to develop a regional approach that enables social, economic and cultural revitalisation.
Denison is focused on developing its flagship Wheeler River project in a manner that supports community-led objectives and initiatives and empowers the communities to develop their capacity to take advantage of development opportunities and create a positive legacy beyond the lifespan of the project.
"The communities are very excited to enter into the agreement with Denison, who fully understands our need to sustain our municipalities in northern Saskatchewan for many years to come.
“Each of our communities has limited pools of money to tap into and there is only so much tax revenue our communities can garner to tackle both the communities' aging infrastructure as well as important community needs,” said Beauval Mayor Nick Daigneault.
By partnering with industry, communities will be able to develop an additional fund that will grow over time and provide them with much-needed financial support to see community projects become a reality.
David Cates, president and CEO of Denison, added that as the Wheeler River progressed over the last several years, Denison had listened to, understood, and responded to the interests of the communities.
The agreement establishes commitments for funding to support community development initiatives, with consideration towards contributing to the current and future economic prosperity and sustainability of the communities by promoting economic development and investments in capital projects, job creation and training, housing, education, and other initiatives. The parties to the agreement also acknowledge a common goal of facilitating qualified businesses and workers in benefitting from opportunities associated with the project.
In consideration for contributions to the communities' initiatives, the communities have provided their consent and support for the project and have committed, among other things, to support all regulatory approvals issued for the project related to exploration, evaluation, development, operation, reclamation and closure activities.