Published: November 10, 2020 |

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Denison Mines will restart the formal Environmental Assessment (EA) process for the 90 percent owned Wheeler River Uranium Project beginning January 2021. The decision to resume the EA process marks the end of the temporary suspension in March 2020 amidst the significant 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 (EIS) supporting the advancement of Wheeler River as Canada’s first in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mine,” said David Cates, Denison’s president and CEO.

“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 finalizing its plans for the resumption of the EA as part of the company’s 2021 budgeting process. A key milestone for the EA process in 2021 is expected to be the resumption of community engagement activities, adapted to reflect COVID-19 protocols and best practices, to facilitate information sharing with interested parties. Additionally, advancing the EA process will involve the completion of third-party technical studies and assessments, ahead of the preparation and submission of a draft EIS, which is currently targeted for early 2022,” added Cates.

Background on the Environmental Assessment Process
The EA is an important planning and decision-making tool that involves predicting potential environmental effects throughout the project lifecycle (construction, operation, decommissioning, and post-decommissioning) at the site, and within the local and regional assessment areas. 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 in accordance with the requirements of both the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 and the Saskatchewan Environmental Assessment Act. In late December 2019, Denison received a record of decision from the CNSC on the scope of the factors to be taken into account for the Wheeler River EA, which indicate that the EA will follow the CNSC’s generic guidelines.

The Wheeler River EA will draw on the knowledge and expertise of various technical experts in the fields of hydrogeology, aquatics, hydrology, terrestrial ecology, socio economics, and atmospheric and acoustic sciences. The expert knowledge collected through this process will be used to evaluate the potential project effects on the environment and, where applicable, develop mitigation criteria for the life of the operation. Denison considers this process to be iterative – involving repeated and ongoing interaction with project design, as the company advances towards a future feasibility study and further detailed engineering. This integrated approach ensures the project will meet regulatory requirements, protect people and the environment, and maintain operational efficiency.

About Denison
Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. In addition to the Wheeler River project, Denison’s Athabasca Basin exploration portfolio consists of numerous projects covering over 250,000 hectares. Denison’s interests in the Athabasca Basin also include a 22.5 percent ownership interest in the McClean Lake joint venture (MLJV), which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill, which is currently processing ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17 percent interest in the Midwest and Midwest A deposits, and a 66.71 percent interest in the J Zone and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake property. Each of Midwest, Midwest A, J Zone and Huskie are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill.

Denison is 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 post-closure mine care and maintenance services to a variety of industry and government clients.

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