TORONTO, Jan. 19,
2022 /PRNewswire/ - Denison Mines
Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX: DML) (NYSE
American: DNN) is pleased to report that the Canadian Nuclear
Safety Commission ("CNSC") has approved an amendment to the uranium
mine and mill licence for the McClean Lake Operation to allow for
the expansion of the JEB Tailings Management Facility ("TMF"). View
PDF version
David Cates, Denison's President
& CEO, commented "The McClean Lake mill remains a
strategically significant asset in the Athabasca Basin region – representing the only
uranium milling facility currently operating in Canada. The
amendment to the operating licence for the McClean Lake Operation
allows for the expansion of the TMF, such that the facility will be
well positioned to serve as a regional milling centre for current
and future uranium mining projects in the eastern portion of the
Athabasca Basin for many years to
come.
Denison congratulates Orano, as our partner and the
operator of the McClean Lake Operation, on obtaining approval for
the environmentally responsible approach put forward to expand the
capacity of the TMF without resulting in a significant impact to
the operation's overall footprint."
The public hearing regarding the application for amendment was
held on October 4, 2021 and included
submissions from Orano Canada Inc. ("Orano"), as operator of the
McClean Lake Joint Venture ("MLJV"), as well as input from Denison,
CNSC staff, Cameco Corporation, the English River First Nation, the
Metis Nation of Saskatchewan, and
the Athabasca Joint Engagement and Environmental Subcommittee,
among others.
The Commission considered the adequacy of the proposed measures
for protecting the environment, the health and safety of persons,
national security, and other international obligations. The
operation's past operating performance, environmental protection,
radiation protection, Indigenous consultation and engagement,
decommissioning plans, and other safety and control areas were also
examined. The TMF is designed in line with the Global Industry
Standard on Tailings Management developed by the International
Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM).
The amended licence remains valid until June 30, 2027. To see the full record of
decision, please see the CNSC website at:
http://nuclearsafety.gc.ca.
The McClean Lake Mill
The McClean Lake property is located on the eastern edge of the
Athabasca Basin in northern
Saskatchewan, approximately 750
kilometres north of Saskatoon, and
is home to the McClean Lake uranium mill, one of the world's
largest uranium processing facilities. The mill has licensed annual
production capacity of 24.0 million pounds
U3O8 and is currently operating under a
10-year license expiring in 2027. The mill is contracted to process
the ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement (up
to 18.0 million pounds U3O8 per year). The
MLJV is an unincorporated contractual arrangement between Orano
with a 77.5% interest and Denison with a 22.5% interest. Orano is
the operator of the project.
Denison has assessed the potential economic benefit of using the
McClean Lake mill as a regional milling centre for the future
processing of uranium resources extracted from the Gryphon uranium
deposit, on Denison's 95% owned Wheeler River property, and the
Tthe Heldeth Túé ("THT," formerly J Zone) uranium deposit, on
Denison's 66.90% owned Waterbury Lake property.
For more information about these projects, please refer to the
technical reports titled "Prefeasibility Study for the Wheeler
River Uranium Project, Saskatchewan,
Canada" (September 24, 2018),
and "Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Tthe Heldeth Túé (J
Zone) Deposit, Waterbury Lake Property, Northern Saskatchewan, Canada" (October 30, 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 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.
In addition to Denison's interests in Wheeler River and McClean
Lake, Denison's interests in Saskatchewan include a 25.17% interest in the
Midwest Main and Midwest A deposits, and a 66.90% interest in the
THT and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake property. Each of
Midwest Main, Midwest A, THT and Huskie are located within 20
kilometres of the McClean Lake mill.
Through its 50% ownership of JCU (Canada) Exploration Company, Limited ("JCU"),
Denison also holds interests in various uranium project joint
ventures in Canada, including the
Millennium project (JCU 30.099%), the Kiggavik project (JCU
33.8123%) and Christie Lake (JCU
34.4508%).
Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and
environmental services through its Closed Mines group (formerly
Denison Environmental Services), which manages Denison's
Elliot Lake reclamation projects
and provides third-party post-closure mine care and maintenance
services.
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 permitting of the
MLJV's operations, including the JEB TMF expansion, underlying
assumptions and the MLJV's intentions with respect thereto;
assumptions and projections with respect to processing uranium
resources from Denison projects; 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, Denison is relying on the information provided, and
the procedures undertaken, by the operator of the MLJV.
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 26, 2021
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.