TORONTO, July 30, 2020 /CNW/ - Denison Mines
Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX: DML) (NYSE
American: DNN) is pleased to announce the London Court of International Arbitration
("LCIA") has recently rendered a final award in favour of Denison
for the previously disclosed arbitration proceedings between the
Company and Uranium Industry a.s. ("UI") related to the 2015 sale
by Denison to UI of its mining assets and operations located in
Mongolia. View PDF version
The arbitration panel declared that UI violated its obligations
to the Company under the related agreements, and ordered UI to pay
the Company USD$10,000,000 plus
interest at a rate of 5% per annum from November 16, 2016, plus certain legal and
arbitration costs. The arbitration panel further dismissed
all other claims and counterclaims.
Background
In November 2015, the Company
completed the sale of its mining assets and operations located in
Mongolia to UI pursuant to an
amended and restated share purchase agreement (the "GSJV
Agreement"). The primary assets at that time were the
exploration licenses for the Hairhan, Haraat, Gurvan Saihan and
Ulzit projects. On September 20,
2016, the Mineral Resources Authority of Mongolia formally issued mining license
certificates for all four projects, triggering Denison's right to
receive additional post-closing contingent consideration of
USD$10,000,000 (collectively, the
"Mining License Receivable"). The original due date for
payment of the Mining License Receivable by UI was November 16, 2016.
Under an extension agreement between UI and the Company, the
payment due date of the Mining License Receivable was extended from
November 16, 2016 to July 16, 2017 (the "Extension Agreement").
As consideration for the extension, UI agreed to pay interest on
the Mining License Receivable amount at a rate of 5% per year,
payable monthly up to July 16, 2017
and they also agreed to pay a USD$100,000 instalment amount towards the balance
of the Mining License Receivable amount. The required
payments were not made. The Company served notice to UI on
February 24, 2017, that it was in
default of its obligations under the GSJV Agreement and the
Extension Agreement and that the Mining License Receivable and all
interest payable thereon were immediately due and
payable.
On December 12, 2017, the Company
then filed a Request for Arbitration between the Company and UI
under the Arbitration Rules of the LCIA in conjunction with the
default of UI's obligations under the GSJV Agreement and Extension
Agreement. The three person arbitration panel was appointed
on February 28, 2018, with in-person
hearings held in December 2019. The arbitration panel's
findings were issued on July 27,
2020.
About Denison
Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with
interests focused in the Athabasca
Basin region of northern Saskatchewan,
Canada. The Company's flagship project is the 90% owned
Wheeler River Uranium Project, which is the largest undeveloped
uranium project in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the
Athabasca Basin region of northern
Saskatchewan. Denison's interests
in Saskatchewan also include a
22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake Joint Venture
('MLJV'), which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean
Lake uranium mill, which is contracted to process the ore from the
Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17%
interest in the Midwest deposits and a 66.71% interest in the J
Zone and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake property. The
Midwest, J Zone and Huskie deposits are located within 20
kilometres of the McClean Lake mill. In addition, Denison has an
extensive portfolio of exploration projects in the Athabasca Basin region.
Denison is engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental
services through its Closed Mines group, which manages Denison's
Elliot Lake reclamation projects
and provides post-closure mine and maintenance services to industry
and government clients.
Denison is also the manager of Uranium Participation
Corporation, a publicly traded company listed on the TSX under the
symbol 'U', which invests in uranium oxide in concentrates and
uranium hexafluoride.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain information contained in this news release
constitutes 'forward-looking information', within the meaning of
the applicable United States and
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 news release contains
forward-looking information pertaining to the LCIA award and the
implication that Denison may recover such award; and expectations
regarding its joint venture ownership interests and the continuity
of its agreements with its 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, level of activity,
performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
For example, the arbitration award in favour of Denison may not
lead to recovery of any such award or expenses. Denison
believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking
information are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these
expectations will prove to be accurate and results 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 13, 2020 or subsequent
quarterly financial reports 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 news 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 news release. Denison does not undertake any obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the
date of this news release to conform such information to actual
results or to changes in Denison's expectations except as otherwise
required by applicable legislation.
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SOURCE Denison Mines Corp.