TORONTO, Aug. 8, 2022
/CNW/ - Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the
"Company") (TSX: DML) (NYSE American: DNN) announces that its
confidential offer to acquire UEX Corporation ("UEX") dated
July 22, 2022 (the "Acquisition
Proposal") has expired. View PDF version
Despite Denison's Acquisition Proposal representing a premium to
the 10-day and 20-day volume weighted average price implied
by both the original agreement between UEX and Uranium Energy
Corp. ("UEC") dated June 13, 2022
(the "Previous UEC Offer") and the amended agreement with UEC dated
August 5, 2022 (the "Amended UEC
Offer"), the board of directors of UEX has concluded that Denison's
Acquisition Proposal was matched by the Amended UEC Offer.
Denison also notes that recent trading prices were affected by
UEC's July 28, 2022 public disclosure
of the Denison Acquisition Proposal, which was delivered
confidentially to UEX under an existing non-disclosure
agreement between Denison and UEX.
David Cates, President & CEO
of Denison, commented: "In
preparing our now expired
Acquisition Proposal, Denison assessed the
performance of UEX's share price
under the Previous UEC Offer and saw an opportunity
to present an
alternative proposal, which was
determined by the UEX board to be a Superior Proposal on
July
28th. While it
is puzzling that the UEX
board was not compelled by the
premium offer made by Denison, we are nevertheless
happy to see exploration assets in the Athabasca Basin so coveted by other industry
participants. Just last
year, Denison purchased 50% of JCU
(Canada) Exploration Company,
Limited ("JCU") for $20.5 million.
Given that we view the other 50% of JCU as UEX's most
valuable asset, we are pleased to now
see UEX transact at a
valuation greater than
$300 million.
Denison remains wholly focused on the
advancement of the Wheeler River Project,
the largest undeveloped uranium project in the
infrastructure-rich eastern portion of
the Athabasca Basin region
of northern Saskatchewan.
Following favorable metallurgical testing
results announced last week and
another major milestone we will be
announcing later this morning, we are more confident than ever that
Wheeler River is the premier uranium development project in
the eastern Athabasca Basin and that
Denison is uniquely positioned to
offer investors exposure to new
sources of high-grade and low-cost Canadian uranium
production in the years ahead."
About Denison
Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with
interests focused in the Athabasca
Basin region of northern Saskatchewan,
Canada. The Company has an effective 95% interest in its
flagship 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. A
Pre-Feasibility Study was completed for Wheeler River in late 2018,
considering the potential economic merit of developing Phoenix as an ISR operation and the Gryphon
deposit as a conventional underground mining operation.
Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership
interest in the McClean Lake Joint Venture, 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 Main and
Midwest A deposits and a 66.90% interest in the Tthe Heldeth Túé
("THT", formerly J Zone) and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake
property. The Midwest Main, Midwest A, THT and Huskie deposits are
located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill. Denison's
exploration portfolio includes further interests in properties
covering approximately 300,000 hectares in the Athabasca Basin region.
Through its 50% ownership of JCU, Denison holds additional
interests in various uranium project joint ventures in Canada, including the Millennium project (JCU,
30.099%), the Kiggavik project (JCU, 33.8118%) and Christie Lake (JCU, 34.4508%).
Denison is also engaged in post-closure mine care and
maintenance services through its Closed Mines group (formerly
Denison Environmental Services), which manages Denison's reclaimed
mine sites in the Elliot Lake
region and provides related services to certain third-party
projects.
Follow Denison on Twitter: @DenisonMinesCo
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
'potential', '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' or 'be achieved'.
In particular, this news release contains forward-looking
information pertaining to the following: expectations with respect
to the proposal for a transaction with
UEX; expectations regarding the Company's
exploration and evaluation
programs and potential for project
development, particularly with respect to Wheeler
River; and expectations regarding its joint
venture ownership interests and the continuity of its agreements
with its partners and third parties.
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 modelling and
assumptions upon which the work plans for exploration and/or the
Wheeler River Project are based may not be maintained after further
work is completed. In addition, Denison may decide or
otherwise be required to discontinue exploration, testing,
evaluation and development work if it is unable to maintain or
otherwise secure the necessary resources (such as testing
facilities, capital funding, regulatory approvals, etc.).
Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this
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 25,
2022, 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.