New York, Feb 18, 2026, 07:10 EST — Before the bell
- Denison Mines shares hold flat in early premarket trading following the Phoenix contract win.
- Denison has tapped Wood Canada to handle construction management, setting the stage for a build.
- Attention turns now to federal approvals, with uranium policy headlines also in the spotlight.
Denison Mines Corp held steady at $3.81 in premarket trading Wednesday, after naming Wood Canada as construction manager for its Phoenix in-situ recovery uranium project in Saskatchewan. CEO David Cates said the company stands “ready to make a Final Investment Decision” once it gets the green light for its environmental assessment and construction licence at the federal level. PR Newswire
This is a big one for Denison. After years tied up in permits and paperwork, the company is itching to get Phoenix past the planning stage and into real construction—but everything hinges on that federal decision. Until then, the timeline is still shaky.
Policy shifts and power demand headlines keep the uranium market on edge. U.S. uranium enrichment is set to resume, with some help from French partners, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright in Paris. Over at NexGen Energy, the CEO notes that data-centre operators are beginning to circle uranium projects, chasing stable power for AI growth. Spot uranium? Still orbiting $88 per pound, off highs above $100 reached in late January, per the Reuters report on NexGen.
Denison stock ended Tuesday up 0.8% at $3.81, trading in a $3.59 to $3.82 range as roughly 42 million shares moved.
Denison remains a developer, not yet producing, with Phoenix as its flagship project. The company plans to use in-situ recovery, or ISR—a mining approach that circulates a solution through underground ore via wells, pulling uranium-laden fluid to the surface instead of resorting to traditional open pit or underground mining.
Wood’s job: construction management for the processing plant, plus selected site build-out, along with project controls, procurement help, and safety oversight. Denison calls it continuity, work that extends existing engineering.
Still, there’s a major caveat. A lone information request from federal regulators can drag out timelines, and when that happens, costs often climb. On top of that, uranium’s price is volatile—swings tend to hit pre-production developers harder than established miners with material already moving.
Investors have their eyes on the permit decision now, not just fresh contract wins. Denison, in its February update, pointed to a pending call from Canada’s nuclear regulator, marking that decision as pivotal. Kicking off construction by the end of Q1 2026 is circled as critical for hitting Denison’s mid-2028 goal for first production.
