TSX- and NYSE American-listed Denison Mines has awarded a C$16-million contract to consulting and engineering group Wood Canada for the completion of detailed design engineering for the in-situ recovery mining project planned for the Phoenix uranium deposit.
Phoenix and the nearby Gryphon uranium deposit are part of the Wheeler River uranium project, which is the biggest undeveloped uranium mining project in the infrastructure-rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region in northern Saskatchewan.
Denison has an effective 95% ownership interest in Wheeler River and is the project operator.
A National Instrument 43-101 feasibility study was completed by Wood in 2023 to evaluate the use of the in-situ recovery mining method at Phoenix. The results demonstrated robust base case after-tax (adjusted) economics – including a net present value (NPV) of C$1.56-billion, an internal rate of return of 90.0%, and an NPV to initial capital cost ratio in excess of 3.7 to 1.
The base case assumed uranium selling prices in the range of $$66.53 to $$70.11 per pound uranium oxide. The current spot price for uranium is about $105/lb, reflecting an increase of over 50% from the average of the base case pricing assumptions used in the Phoenix feasibility study of $68.99/lb.