Denison Announces Stantec & Engcomp to Lead Pre-Feasibility Study FOR Wheeler River Project and Provides Update ON Status of Gryphon Resource Estimate
Denison Mines Corp.
1100 – 40 University Ave
Toronto, ON M5J 1T1
www.denisonmines.com
@DenisonMinesCo
PRESS RELEASE
DENISON ANNOUNCES STANTEC & ENGCOMP TO LEAD
PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR WHEELER RIVER PROJECT AND
PROVIDES UPDATE ON STATUS OF GRYPHON RESOURCE ESTIMATE
Toronto, ON – January 4, 2018 Denison Mines Corp. (“Denison” or the “Company”) (TSX: DML) (NY SE
MKT: DNN) (NYSE American: DNN) is pleased to announce that it h as retained Stantec Consulting Inc.
(“Stantec”) and ENGCOMP Engineering and Computing Professionals Inc. (“ENGCOMP”) to lead and
author the Pre-Feasibility Study (“P FS”) for the Wheeler River project, which is the largest undeveloped
high-grade uranium project in the infrastructure rich eastern p ortion 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 urani um 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 developmen t, 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 processi ng scope of the PFS, which is
expected to include the development of an appropriate process d esign criteria for the recovery of
uranium from the Gryphon and Phoenix deposits, as well as carry ing 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 respons ibility for managing the on-
going environmental baseline data collection and regulatory asp ects of the project to ultimately
support the federal and provincial environmental assessment pro c e s s e s . D E S i s e x p e c t e d t o
leverage its experience working with the Canadian Nuclear Safet y 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 option s 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 committ ed 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.
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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 intersecti ng significant uranium minerali zation, 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 Whe eler 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, wh ich includes the timing of the completion of
the updated estimate of the mineral resources.
About Wheeler River
Wheeler River is the largest undeveloped high-grade ur anium project in the infrastructure rich eastern
portion of the Athabasca Basin region, in northern Sask atchewan. The project is a joint venture between
Denison (60% and operator), Cameco Corp. (“Cameco”) (30%), and JCU (Canada) Exploration Company
Limited (“JCU”) (10%), and is host to the high-grade Gryphon and Phoenix uranium deposits discovered by
Denison in 2014 and 2008, respectively.
On April 4th, 2016, Denison announced the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) for the
Wheeler River Project, which considers the potent ial economic merit of co-developing the high-grade
Gryphon and Phoenix deposits as a single underground mining operation. The PEA returned a base case
pre-tax Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 20.4% bas ed on the current long term contract price of uranium
(US$44.00 per pound U 3O8), and Denison's share of estimated in itial capital expendi tures ("CAPEX") of
CAD$336M (CAD$560M on 100% ownership basis). Ex ploration results from the subsequent drilling
programs have not been incorporated into the resour ce estimate or the PEA. The PEA is preliminary in
nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the
economic considerations applied to them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty
that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and
do not have demonstrated economic viability. On July 19th, 2016 Denison announced the initiation of a
Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") for the Wheeler River property and the complimentary commencement of an
infill drilling program at the Gryphon deposit.
As previously announced on January 10, 2017, Denis on has entered into an agreement with its Wheeler
River Joint Venture partners, Cameco and JCU, to fund 75% of Joint Venture expenses in 2017 and 2018
(ordinarily 60%) in exchange for an increase in Denison's interest in the project to up to approximately 66%.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cameco will fund 50% of its ordinary 30% share in 2017 and 2018, and
JCU is expected to continue to fund its 10% interest in the project.
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 its 60% owned Wheeler River project, which hosts
the high-grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits, Denison's exploration portfolio consists of
numerous projects covering approximately 347,000 hec tares in the Athabasca Basin region, including
327,000 hectares in the infrastructure rich eastern po rtion of the Athabasca Basin. Denison's interests in
Saskatchewan 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 64.22% interest in the J Zone de posit and Huskie discovery on the Waterbury Lake
property. Each of Midwest, Midwest A, J Zone and Huskie are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean
Lake mill.
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Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Denison
Environmental Services division and is 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
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information", within the meaning of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Ca nadian legislation concerning the business, operations and finan cial
performance and condition of Denison.
Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expec ts",
"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 press release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the following: exploration (including
drilling) and evaluation activities, plans and objectives; the results of Denison’s PEA; plans and objectives with respect to updating its
resource estimates and preparing a PFS; and Denison’s percentage in its properties and its plans and agreements with its joint venture
partners, as applicable. Statements relating to "mineral reserves" or "mineral resources" are deemed to be forward-looking information,
as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions that the mineral reserves and mineral resources
described can be profitably produced in the future.
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 forward-looking statements. Factors, such as
environmental impacts, stakeholder approvals, and capital needs can significant alter plans and achievements. 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 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 23, 2017 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 press 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 press release. Denison does not undertake
any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this press 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: This
press release may use the terms “measured”, “indicated” and “inferred” mineral resources. United States investors are advised that while
such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not
recognize them. “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.