Jan 5 2018
Denison Mines Corp. is pleased to announce that it has retained Stantec Consulting Inc. and ENGCOMP Engineering and Computing Professionals Inc. to lead and author the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") for the Wheeler River project, which is the largest undeveloped high-grade uranium project in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region in northern Saskatchewan.
In addition to the Company's in-house project development team, Denison has assembled a group of leading engineering and consulting firms, with mine development, metallurgical, and environmental experience applicable to the development of a large-scale uranium mining operation in northern Saskatchewan, to support the completion of the PFS for the Wheeler River project.
The Wheeler River PFS team includes:
- Stantec & ENGCOMP
These firms have been assigned responsibility for authoring the PFS in accordance with NI 43-101, including completion of the level of engineering design required to assemble a Class 4 capital cost estimate, project schedule, and an evaluation of infrastructure services and systems required for the development of a mining project in northern Saskatchewan. The work is planned to be managed primarily from Saskatoon and Sudbury, and is expected to leverage Stantec's experience and track-record of executing all phases of mining studies and development, as well as ENGCOMP's experience in Saskatchewan with heavy industrial projects in uranium and potash mining.
- Hatch Ltd. ("Hatch")
Hatch has been assigned responsibility for the mineral processing scope of the PFS, which is expected to include the development of an appropriate process design criteria for the recovery of uranium from the Gryphon and Phoenix deposits, as well as carrying out a capacity review of Denison's 22.5% owned McClean Lake mill and developing various mineral processing inputs into the overall PFS. In completing this work, Hatch is expected to leverage its previous experience with the McClean Lake mill facility.
- Denison Environmental Services ("DES")
Throughout the course of the PFS, DES has been assigned responsibility for managing the on-going environmental baseline data collection and regulatory aspects of the project to ultimately support the federal and provincial environmental assessment processes. DES is expected to leverage its experience working with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, as a uranium facility operator for the Company's reclaimed uranium mine sites in Elliot Lake, Ontario.
The purpose of the PFS is to establish the best economic options for the development of Wheeler River's Gryphon and Phoenix deposits into a large scale, low cost uranium mining operation. In addition to focusing on project economics, the Company's development team is committed to addressing the challenge of sustainability - ensuring the Wheeler River project is able to deliver value to the Company's shareholders, while simultaneously providing economic and social benefits to impacted communities and minimizing its environmental footprint and impact.
Update on Status of Gryphon Resource Estimate
On September 12th, 2017, the Company announced a significant increase to the summer 2017 exploration drilling program at Wheeler River, which necessitated the continuation of exploration activities, in the vicinity of the Gryphon deposit, through to late October. On November 27th, 2017, the Company announced assay results from the 64 drill holes completed during the summer drilling program. The results were highlighted by 91% of drill holes intersecting significant uranium mineralization, leading to considerable geological interpretation and review ahead of the completion of an updated estimate of mineral resources for the Gryphon deposit. The updated estimate is expected to incorporate the results from an additional 141 drill holes completed at Gryphon since the maiden mineral resource estimate for the deposit was completed in late 2015. Work towards the completion of an updated estimate of mineral resources for the Wheeler River project is expected to continue during the first quarter of 2018.
The updated estimate of indicated mineral resources for the Wheeler River project is an important part of the PFS process. While the Company is currently targeting completion of the PFS by mid-2018, the timing of the PFS will ultimately be contingent on various factors, which includes the timing of the completion of the updated estimate of the mineral resources.
Source: http://denisonmines.com/