New York, February 25, 2026, 07:56 EST — Premarket
- Denison’s board has cleared the way for construction at the Phoenix ISR uranium mine, approving a final investment decision.
- Shares climbed roughly 3% in after-hours, but uranium ETFs in the sector slipped earlier in the session.
- The company plans to begin work in March, targeting mid-2028 to get initial production underway.
Denison Mines shares were up about 3.2% at $4.30 late Tuesday after the board signed off on a final investment decision to build the Phoenix in-situ recovery uranium mine in Saskatchewan.
Phoenix moves past years of permitting and engineering talk: it’s now officially on the clock as a construction project. Denison plans to prep the site and start breaking ground in March, then expects about two years of building before aiming for first production by mid-2028. “The beginning of a new era,” chief executive David Cates said, for both the company and Canada’s uranium sector. PR Newswire
Denison pointed out a significant obstacle they’ve cleared: provincial authorities signed off on the project’s environmental assessment back in July 2025. The federal government greenlit it after that, and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission issued a construction licence in February 2026.
The board’s FID sets everything in motion—signoff lands, and heavy construction spend typically follows as the mine gets underway. Now traders zero in on the nuts and bolts: watching schedules, budget control, and if the project lives up to its billed output once it’s running.
Phoenix is slated for in-situ recovery, or ISR. That means a solution is flushed through the orebody to dissolve uranium, and the mix is pumped up to the surface—no trucks, no blasting or hauling rock. Costs can come in lower this way, but the technique often faces extra scrutiny over groundwater risks and how tightly the process is managed.
Denison holds a 90% operating stake in the Wheeler River project, with JCU (Canada) Exploration carrying the other 10%. The project’s Phoenix deposit sits in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin—one of the top uranium districts.
Denison’s shares moved as the broader uranium sector faced some pressure. Both the Global X Uranium ETF and Sprott Uranium Miners ETF dropped about 1.7% during the session.
Investors are pressing for specifics from Denison on how it plans to handle the next phase—who the contractors will be, when orders for long-lead items go out, and if the project’s cost structure shifts once site work starts. Previously, the company said it had been focused on permitting, sourcing materials, and lining up financing ahead of the board’s call.
Even so, projects in the works aren’t immune to trouble. Cost overruns, permitting delays, weather hiccups, stricter water regulations, or a slide in uranium prices can all put pressure on schedules and budgets. For ISR projects, especially first-timers in a new area, regulators and local communities tend to be less tolerant—flexibility is rare.
Next session and through next week, investors will be zeroing in on whether site prep truly starts up on time in March—that’s the main catalyst right now. They’re also waiting for updates on contract scope, plus clarity on how Denison intends to stagger spending as Phoenix moves past the drawing board and into physical site work.
