TORONTO, July 29,
2022 /PRNewswire/ - Denison Mines Corp.
("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX: DML) (NYSE American: DNN) has
noted the disclosure made by Uranium Energy Corp. ("UEC") in its
news release dated July 28, 2022.
Denison hereby confirms that it has made a confidential proposal
(an "Acquisition Proposal") to UEX Corporation ("UEX") to acquire
all of the issued and outstanding shares of UEX. UEX has
reported that its Board of Directors, in consultation with its
legal and financial advisors, has determined that the Acquisition
Proposal constitutes a "Superior Proposal" as defined in the
Arrangement Agreement between UEC and UEX dated June 13, 2022 ("Original Agreement").
Denison understands that notice of such determination was provided
to UEC on July 28, 2022. View PDF
version
The non-binding Acquisition Proposal remains subject to the
entering into of a definitive arrangement agreement ("Definitive
Agreement") and any discussions with respect to a transaction
remain subject to the terms of a non-disclosure agreement ("NDA")
entered into between Denison and UEX. At this time, no
Definitive Agreement has been consummated between Denison and UEX,
and the completion of any such agreement would require the
termination of the Original Agreement in accordance with its
terms.
David Cates, President & CEO
of Denison, commented: "We believe that an
acquisition by Denison of UEX, and its assets in northern
Saskatchewan, has the potential to
benefit Denison shareholders – bolstering Denison's position as a
leading uranium development and exploration Company with an
unwavering focus on the advancement of high-grade uranium deposits
in the Athabasca Basin
region.
Importantly, an acquisition of UEX would allow Denison to
consolidate 100% ownership in our flagship Wheeler River Project at
an ideal time ahead of the anticipated final technical de-risking
steps associated with the Feasibility Study in progress for the
planned Phoenix In-Situ Recovery ("ISR") operation."
An acquisition of UEX has the potential to yield multiple
benefits to Denison shareholders:
- Consolidation of 100% ownership of Wheeler River –
Wheeler River is host to the high-grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits and
represents the largest undeveloped uranium project in the
infrastructure-rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region. The Company is
actively advancing the Phoenix
deposit, which is proposed as a low-cost ISR mining operation,
through the environmental assessment and feasibility study
processes. The results from the Pre-Feasibility Study completed for
Wheeler River suggest that Phoenix
has the potential to be one of the lowest cost uranium mining
operations in the world. Denison currently has an effective 95%
interest in
Wheeler River.
- Consolidation of 100% ownership of JCU (Canada) Exploration Company, Limited
("JCU") – JCU holds a portfolio of twelve uranium
project joint venture interests in Canada, including a 30.099% interest in the
Millennium project (Cameco Corporation 69.901%), a 33.8118%
interest in the Kiggavik project (Orano Canada Inc. 66.1882%), and
a 34.4508% interest in the Christie Lake project (UEX 65.5492%).
Denison currently has a 50% ownership interest in JCU.
- Project Portfolio Suited to Denison's Abundant In-house
Expertise – Denison has a Saskatoon-based technical team with abundant
in-house expertise in the areas of exploration, project
development, engineering, metallurgy, mining, plant operations,
permitting and regulatory affairs, that is well suited to extract
the maximum value possible, for our shareholders, from uranium
exploration or development assets situated in the Athabasca Basin region.
There can be no assurance that a Definitive Agreement or any
other agreement relating to the Acquisition Proposal will be
entered into between Denison and UEX or that the Acquisition
Proposal, and any transactions related thereto or any other similar
transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not
undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to
this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable
law.
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 effective 95% interest in the
Wheeler River project, Denison's interests in the Athabasca Basin include a 22.5% ownership
interest in the McClean Lake joint venture, which includes several
uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill that is
contracted to process the ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll
milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest Main and
Midwest A deposits, and a 66.90% interest in the Tthe Heldeth Túé
("THT", formerly J Zone) and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake
property. The Midwest Main, Midwest A, THT and Huskie deposits are
each located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill.
Through its 50% ownership of JCU, Denison holds additional
interests in various uranium project joint ventures in Canada, including the Millennium project (JCU
30.099%), the Kiggavik project (JCU 33.8118%) and Christie Lake
(JCU 34.4508%). Denison's exploration portfolio includes further
interests in properties covering approximately 300,000 hectares in
the Athabasca Basin
region.
Denison is also engaged in post-closure mine care and
maintenance services through its Closed Mines group (formerly
Denison Environmental Services), which manages Denison's reclaimed
mine sites in the Elliot Lake
region and provides related services to certain third-party
projects.
Follow Denison on Twitter: @DenisonMinesCo
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this news release
constitutes 'forward-looking information', within the meaning of
the applicable United States and
Canadian legislation concerning the business, operations and
financial performance and condition of Denison.
Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified
by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'plans',
'expects', '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 news release contains forward-looking
information pertaining to the following: the existence and terms of
the Acquisition Proposal, including the conditions and other rights
and obligations of the parties and any potential benefits of such a
transaction; expectations regarding the potential to enter into a
Definitive Agreement and/or complete a transaction pursuant
thereto; and expectations regarding its joint venture ownership
interests and the continuity of its agreements with its
partners.
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 such forward-looking statements.
For example, the conditions to the transactions may not be
satisfied or the parties may negotiate terms materially different
than disclosed herein. Denison believes that the expectations
reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable and no
assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be
accurate and results 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 the Annual
Information Form dated March 25, 2022
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 news 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 news release. Denison does not undertake any obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the
date of this news release to conform such information to actual
results or to changes in Denison's expectations except as otherwise
required by applicable legislation.
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SOURCE Denison Mines Corp.