Orano, Denison launch Saskatchewan uranium operation
Orano Canada Inc. and Denison Mines Corp. [DML-TSX] as joint venture partners in the McLean Lake Joint Venture (MLJV) have announced the successful start of uranium mining operations in Saskatchewan. The joint venture is utilizing the patented Surface Access Borehole Resource Extraction mining method.
SABRE is viewed as an innovative mining method that has the potential to allow for access to relatively small-high-grade orebodies in the Athabasca Basin that are either too small or too deep to be mined economically by conventional open-pit and/or underground mining methods.
A subsidiary of the multi-national Orano group., Orano Canada owns a 77.5% interest in the joint venture. Denison holds the other 22.5%.
“Our long-term investment in R&D within Orano and the MLJV has culminated in the safe mining, milling and packaging of ore that in the past would have been deemed economically challenging to develop,” said Orano Canada President and CEO Jim Corman.
SABRE is a culmination of a mining equipment invention and development initiative that began in 2004 and concluded in 2021 with the completion of a multi-year mining test program that excavated approximately 1,500 tonnes of high value ore. It is a non-entry, surface-based mining method that uses a high-pressure water jet placed at the bottom of the drill hole to excavate a mining cavity. The cuttings from the excavation process are then air lifted to surface, separated, and stockpiled.
“The successful commencement of SABRE mining at McClean Lake marks a significant milestone in the history of the MLJV, as the joint venture returns to active mining operations for the first time since 2008,” said Denison President and CEO David Cates.
Based in Saskatoon, Sask., Orano Canada is a leading producer of uranium, accounting for the processing of 16.9 million pounds of uranium concentrate in Canada in 2024. Orano ahs been exploring for, mining and milling uranium in Canada for more than 60 years. Aside from being operator at McClean Lake, Orano is a major partner at Cigar Lake, McArthur River and Key Lake operations, which are also located in Saskatchewan.
Denison was in the news recently when it released an update on its Pheonix project on the Wheeler River property in Saskatchewan. It is expected to rank as Canada’s first In-Situ Recovery (ISR) uranium mine and potentially one of the lowest-cost uranium mines in the world.
Denison has been given the green light by the Province of Saskatchewan to prepare, construct and operate the facilities required to carry out the in-situ recovery (ISR) feasibility field test planned for its Wheel River uranium project.
In January, 2024, Denison was awarded a contract for approximately $16 million to Wood Canada Ltd. for the completion of design engineering for the ISR mining project planned for the Pheonix uranium deposit.
On Thursday, Denison rose 4.3% or 12 cents to $2.89. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $3.45 and $1.58.