David Cates, President and CEO of Denison commented, "In February, the Phoenix In-Situ Recovery ("ISR") uranium mine ("Phoenix") became the first large-scale Canadian uranium mining project in over 20 years to receive all regulatory approvals required to commence construction. Shortly after achieving this landmark permitting accomplishment, the Company made its final investment decision ("FID") for Phoenix construction and, by the end of the first quarter, our Denison-Wood integrated project management team mobilized to the Wheeler River property and began executing schedule-critical site preparation and early works construction activities.
In less than two months of on-site activity, our dedicated teams have completed (i) tree clearing activities across the primary mine site area, (ii) installation of construction management facilities, (iii) construction of our on-site helipad, (iv) civil works for the concrete batch plant pad, and (v) commencement of aggregate production at a nearby quarry. Civil activities continue to advance on site, including those necessary to establish the future airstrip. Taken together, we are on track to ramp up construction staffing and activities to complete early works and commence full-scale construction by the end of the second quarter, which aligns with our target to achieve first uranium production in mid-2028. We are, however, closely monitoring the widespread flooding that is impacting a portion of the road network in northern Saskatchewan. While our personnel are able to access the Phoenix site via helicopter, our ability to mobilize additional heavy equipment and certain supplies to site as planned may be impacted if the flooding persists and/or key infrastructure remains impacted. We recognize the significant efforts of the Province of Saskatchewan to rapidly respond to this unprecedented situation and are hopeful that conditions will improve in the coming days.
At our 22.5%-owned McClean Lake operation, mining activities at the McClean North SABRE mine were minimal in the first quarter, with work focused on the completion of resource confirmation drilling in advance of the planned resumption of active mining later in the second quarter.
Denison's unique combination of physical uranium holdings, active mine production from McClean Lake, and large-scale expected future mine production from the Phoenix and Gryphon deposits has resonated positively with some of the world's largest nuclear power utilities. This is reflected by our continued success in growing our uranium sales book, which now includes contracted sales commitments for nearly 8 million pounds of U3O8 plus advanced negotiations for a further 8 million pounds of U3O8. Notably, our customers include leading North American nuclear power utilities collectively responsible for over 50 reactors.
In the first quarter, we entered near-term sales commitments with an average realized price over US$99/lb U3O8 for deliveries within a year. These sales are part of our Phoenix project financing efforts stemming from our physical uranium purchase from 2021, and demonstrate how our disciplined long-term strategy has facilitated significant participation in a rising uranium price environment. While the large majority of our commercial activity is focused on market-related pricing, we have also recently observed base-escalated pricing above levels reported in industry price publications, including prices on a present value basis in excess of US$100/lb U3O8 We believe this and other positive market signals continue to point to robust uranium market fundamentals, which align well with Denison's unique position as one of the few uranium suppliers globally that is on track to bring a sizeable new source of production to market before the end of the decade."
Highlights
Regulatory Approval Received and Final Investment Decision Made to Construct the Phoenix Uranium Mine
In February 2026, the Company announced receipt of approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission ("CNSC") for the Environmental Assessment ("EA") and the Licence to Prepare a Site & Construct (the "Construction Licence") for Phoenix. Phoenix is situated on the Wheeler River property ("Wheeler River") and is the first uranium mine in Canada to receive federal approval for construction in over 20 years. With the EA having previously been approved by the Province of Saskatchewan, and other provincial approvals necessary to commence construction already received, federal approval of the EA and the issuance of the Construction Licence represented the final regulatory approvals required to commence construction of Phoenix.
Following the receipt of the CNSC approvals, Denison announced approval by its Board of Directors of the FID.
Significant Advancement of Phoenix Site Preparation and Commencement of Early Works
Following the FID in late February 2026, the Integrated Project Management Team mobilized to the Phoenix site in early March and began overseeing the execution of site preparation activities and certain early works activities.
By the end of April 2026, significant progress was made on schedule-critical activities including the completion of tree clearing activities across the primary mine site area prior to the onset of the migratory bird season. See Figure 1 for an annotated illustration of the site clearing activities completed to the end of April 2026. Site clearing and civil works were also completed for the concrete batch plant pad, which will allow for the mobilization of the batch plant to site in May 2026. Additionally, a rock crusher was mobilized to a nearby ...
