EX-99.1
2
a2020-11dmcdenisonannounc.htm
PRESS RELEASE DATED NOVEMBER 9, 2020
a2020-11dmcdenisonannounc
Exhibit 99.1
Denison Mines
Corp.
1100 – 40
University Ave
Toronto, ON M5J
1T1
www.denisonmines.com
PRESS
RELEASE
DENISON ANNOUNCES DECISION TO RESUME FORMAL
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS FOR WHEELER RIVER
Toronto, ON – Nov 9,
2020. Denison Mines Corp. (“Denison” or the
“Company”) (DML: TSX, DNN NYSE American) is pleased to
announce its decision to restart the formal Environmental
Assessment (“EA”) process for the 90% owned Wheeler
River Uranium Project (“Wheeler River” or the
“Project”) effective January 2021. The decision to
resume the EA process marks the end of the temporary suspension
announced in March 2020 amidst the significant social and economic
disruption that emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (see
Denison’s news release from March 20,
2020).
David Cates, Denison's President & CEO,
commented, “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.
With over $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.”
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
(together referred to as the “Project Description”) 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.
Impact on the Company’s Outlook for 2020
The
Company previously announced plans for 2020 in its annual
Management Discussion & Analysis (“MD&A”) for
the year ended December 31, 2019 (the "Initial 2020 Outlook").
Those plans identified discretionary work related to the
advancement of the Wheeler River EA with a total cost of
approximately $7.0 million. As updated in the Company’s
MD&A for the quarters ended March 30, 2020 and June 30, 2020,
the Company’s Outlook for 2020 was adapted in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic and the decision to temporarily suspend the
Wheeler River EA (“Updated 2020 Outlook”). While the
Company’s internal environmental and technical teams
continued to advance certain scopes of work related to the EA
during 2020 (see Denison’s news release dated October 28,
2020), the Updated 2020 Outlook did not include the discretionary
EA work identified in the Initial 2020 Outlook.
Now,
in support of the planned resumption of the EA in 2021, the Company
has approved certain discretionary scopes of work for the remainder
of 2020 – each of which is designed to best position Denison
to resume the EA process. The Company’s latest Outlook for
2020 (“Latest 2020 Outlook”) is outlined in its
MD&A for the period ended September 30, 2020 and reflects these
additional discretionary scopes of work as part of the $700,000 of
additional evaluation expenditures outlined for Wheeler
River
in
2020.
The
future scope and cost associated with the resumption of the EA and
the associated activities for 2021 are still to be determined, and
are expected to be included in the Company’s future
disclosure of its overall business plans for 2021, which is
expected to follow the completion of the Company’s
annual
budgeting
process.
About Wheeler River
Wheeler River is the largest undeveloped uranium project in the
infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region,
in northern Saskatchewan – including combined Indicated
Mineral Resources of 132.1 million pounds U3O8 (1,809,000 tonnes
at an average grade of 3.3% U3O8), plus combined
Inferred Mineral Resources of 3.0 million pounds U3O8 (82,000 tonnes at
an average grade of 1.7% U3O8). The project is
host to the high-grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits,
discovered by Denison in 2008 and 2014, respectively, and is a
joint venture between Denison (90% and operator) and JCU (Canada)
Exploration Company Limited (10%).
A PFS was completed for Wheeler River in late 2018, considering the
potential economic merit of developing the Phoenix deposit as an
ISR operation and the Gryphon deposit as a conventional underground
mining operation. Taken together, the project is estimated to have
mine production of 109.4 million pounds U3O8 over a 14-year
mine life, with a base case pre-tax NPV of $1.31 billion (8%
discount rate), Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 38.7%, and
initial pre-production capital expenditures of $322.5 million. The
Phoenix ISR operation is estimated to have a stand-alone base case
pre-tax NPV of $930.4 million (8% discount rate), IRR of 43.3%,
initial pre-production capital expenditures of $322.5 million, and
industry leading average operating costs of US$3.33/lb
U3O8.
The PFS is prepared on a project (100% ownership) and pre-tax
basis, as each of the partners to the Wheeler River Joint Venture
are subject to different tax and other obligations.
Further details regarding the PFS, including additional scientific
and technical information, as well as after-tax results
attributable to Denison's ownership interest, are described in
greater detail in the NI 43-101 Technical Report titled
"Pre-feasibility Study for the Wheeler River Uranium Project,
Saskatchewan, Canada" dated October 30, 2018 with an effective date
of September 24, 2018. A copy of this report is available on
Denison's website and under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
Denison suspended certain activities at Wheeler River during 2020,
including the formal EA process, which is on the critical path to
achieving the project development schedule outlined in the PFS. The
Company is not currently able to estimate the impact to the project
development schedule outlined in the PFS, and users are cautioned
against relying on the estimates provided therein regarding the
start of pre-production activities in 2021 and first production in
2024.
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% 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% interest in the Midwest and
Midwest A deposits, and a 66.71% 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.
Denison is also the manager of Uranium Participation Corp., a
publicly traded company which invests in uranium oxide and uranium
hexafluoride.
For more information, please contact
David
Cates
(416) 979-1991
ext 362
President and
Chief Executive Officer
Sophia
Shane
(604)
689-7842
Investor
Relations
Follow Denison on
Twitter
@DenisonMinesCo
Qualified Persons
The technical information contained in this release related to
mineral resource estimates has been reviewed and approved by Mr.
Andrew Yackulic, P. Geo, Denison's Director, Exploration, who is a
Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI
43-101.
The balance of the technical information contained in this release
has been reviewed and approved by Mr. David Bronkhorst, P.Eng,
Denison's Vice President, Operations, who is a Qualified Person in
accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101.
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 following: the planned resumption of
the EA process, including regulatory notices and procedures, and
anticipated scope, objectives and timing; the duration and scope of
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and affiliated operational
adjustments; the results of the PFS and expectations with respect
thereto; development and expansion plans and objectives, including
plans for a feasibility study; 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 may be unable to resume or, once resumed, decide
or otherwise be required to discontinue the EA or other testing,
evaluation and development work at Wheeler River if it is unable to
maintain or otherwise secure the necessary resources (such as
testing facilities, capital funding, regulatory approvals, etc.) or
operations are otherwise affected by COVID-19 and its potentially
far-reaching impacts. 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 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.
Cautionary Note to United States
Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred
Mineral Resources and Probable Mineral Reserves: This press
release may use the terms 'measured', 'indicated' and 'inferred'
mineral resources. United States investors are advised that while
such terms have been prepared in accordance with the definition
standards on mineral reserves of the Canadian Institute of Mining,
Metallurgy and Petroleum referred to in Canadian National
Instrument 43-101 Mineral Disclosure Standards ('NI 43-101') and
are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, these terms
are not defined under Industry Guide 7 under the United States
Securities Act and, until recently, have not been permitted to be
used in reports and registration statements filed with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC'). 'Inferred
mineral resources' have a great amount of uncertainty as to their
existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It
cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral
resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian
rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the
basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States
investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of
measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted into
mineral reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to
assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists,
or is economically or legally mineable. In addition, the terms
"mineral reserve", "proven mineral reserve" and "probable mineral
reserve" for the purposes of NI 43-101 differ from the definitions
and allowable usage in Industry Guide 7. Effective February 2019,
the SEC adopted amendments to its disclosure rules to modernize the
mineral property disclosure requirements for issuers whose
securities are registered with the SEC under the Exchange Act and
as a result, the SEC now recognizes estimates of "measured mineral
resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral
resources". In addition, the SEC has amended its definitions of
"proven mineral reserves" and "probable mineral reserves" to be
"substantially similar" to the corresponding definitions under the
CIM Standards, as required under NI 43-101. However, information
regarding mineral resources or mineral reserves in Denison's
disclosure may not be comparable to similar information made public
by United States companies