TORONTO, Ontario — February 24, 2026 — Leads & Copy —
Denison Mines Corp. has announced its Board of Directors has made a Final Investment Decision to proceed with the construction of the Phoenix In-Situ Recovery uranium mine. Site preparation and construction activities are planned to commence in March 2026.
Denison’s President and CEO, David Cates, said the decision and the upcoming initiation of construction activities at Phoenix mark the beginning of a new era in Denison’s history and the Canadian uranium mining sector.
Cates added that Denison’s teams have worked over the last several years to bring Phoenix to a construction-ready state, obtain provincial and federal approvals, procure long-lead materials, and secure financing to be in a position to make this decision and commence construction of the first new large-scale Canadian uranium mine in over two decades. Construction is anticipated to take approximately two years, commencing in March. This is expected to allow Denison to maintain its objective to achieve first production from Phoenix by mid-2028 and position Denison as one of the few uranium suppliers globally able to provide a sizeable new source of uranium production before the end of the decade.
Wheeler River is described as the largest undeveloped uranium project in the infrastructure-rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region, in northern Saskatchewan. 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%).
In August 2023, Denison filed a technical report summarizing the results of the Phoenix FS and a cost update to the 2018 Pre-Feasibility Study for conventional underground mining of the basement-hosted Gryphon uranium deposit. According to the respective studies, both deposits have the potential to be competitive with the lowest-cost uranium mining operations in the world.
Permitting efforts for the planned Phoenix ISR operation commenced in 2019, resulting in the July 2025 approval of the Project’s Environmental Assessment by the Province of Saskatchewan and the February 2026 approval of the Project’s EA and the grant of the Licence to Prepare Site & Construct by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. In addition to Denison’s effective 95% interest in its flagship Wheeler River Project, Denison’s interests in Saskatchewan include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake Joint Venture, which includes unmined uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest Joint Venture’s Midwest Main and Midwest A deposits, and a 70.55% interest in the Tthe Heldeth Túé 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 has direct ownership interests in properties covering approximately 457,000 hectares in the Athabasca Basin region.
Through its 50% ownership of JCU, Denison holds interests in various uranium project joint ventures in Canada, including the Millennium project, the Kiggavik project and Christie Lake.
In 2024, Denison celebrated its 70th year in uranium mining, exploration, and development.
Source: Denison Mines Corp.
