The environmental assessment (EA) process for the Wheeler River uranium project, in the Athabasca basin, northern Saskatchewan, will resume in January, dual-listed Denison Mines announced on Monday.
The resumption will mark the end of the temporary suspension announced in March, amid the social and economic disruption that emerged as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"In the coming days, formal notifications will be submitted to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment (MOE) to restart the EA process. These notifications will inform the regulators of Denison's intention to resume various activities designed to meet the regulatory requirements for an environmental impact statement supporting the advancement of Wheeler River as Canada's first in-situ recovery uranium mine,” said president and CEO David Cates.
With more than $29-million in cash on the balance sheet at the end of October, Denison is well funded to resume the Wheeler River EA process and is currently finalising its plans for the resumption of the EA as part of the company’s 2021 budgeting process.
The EA process is part of the critical path for the advancement of Wheeler River to a future development decision.
Denison initiated the EA for Wheeler River in 2019 with the submission of a project description and technical proposal to the CNSC and MOE. The project description was accepted in the second quarter of 2019, formally initiating the EA process for the project.