Toronto, Jan 20, 2026, 09:50 ET — Regular session underway.
- Denison Mines shares edged slightly in early trading, moving between $3.60 and $3.73.
- Uranium U3O8 futures hovered near the mid-$80s per pound, keeping nuclear-fuel stocks in focus.
- Traders are focused on permitting and the possible green light for construction at Denison’s Phoenix project in Saskatchewan.
Denison Mines Corp shares edged up 1 cent, roughly 0.3%, to $3.70 in early Tuesday trading on the NYSE American, after reaching $3.73 earlier. The stock fluctuated between $3.60 and $3.73, with about 1.7 million shares changing hands.
The broader uranium market remains volatile, with prices holding steady. UxC uranium U3O8 futures — tied to uranium oxide, the most widely traded form — hovered around $85 a pound for contracts expiring in 2026. (CME Group)
That price point is key since physical funds remain central to the market and can pinch supply slightly. As of its Jan. 19 close, Sprott Physical Uranium Trust held roughly 75.5 million pounds of U3O8, with its units trading above net asset value. (Sprott)
Listed uranium stocks showed mixed action Tuesday morning. Cameco fell around 0.4%, Uranium Energy rose close to 1.0%, and Energy Fuels jumped over 6%. The Global X Uranium ETF edged up roughly 0.7%.
Talk of policy and contracting has returned to the forefront. In an outlook released Monday, Sprott pointed to tightening fundamentals and clearer policy as potential drivers for a pick-up in the contracting cycle by 2026, highlighting utilities locking in longer-term uranium supply agreements. (NucNet)
Denison’s focus remains squarely on execution and securing approvals at Phoenix. On Jan. 8, the company announced that grid power from Saskatchewan Power Corporation is now hooked up at the future Phoenix in-situ recovery site, following the completion of a new 138 kV transmission line. They called this a key de-risking move ahead of construction plans. CEO David Cates confirmed the line was finished “on schedule and on budget,” and highlighted that access to grid electricity offers a “notable competitive advantage” for the project. (Denison Mines Corp.)
Phoenix is designed as an in-situ recovery mine. ISR works by circulating solution through the underground ore body, then pumping the uranium-rich fluid back to the surface, bypassing the need for a traditional pit or underground excavation. The final investment decision, or FID, marks the official corporate approval to proceed with construction.
The real risk is timing. Permits can stall, and even minor hold-ups might push construction into harsher weather or pricier work phases. Uranium prices are volatile, swinging quickly both ways, while developers such as Denison often trade based on sentiment when no new permit news emerges.
Denison’s timeline now depends on securing the next round of approvals. On Jan. 2, it raised its post-FID initial capital cost estimate for Phoenix to $600 million. The company said it has over $700 million in cash, physical uranium, and investments available to cover initial capital needs as of Sept. 30, 2025. Denison remains on track to start production by mid-2028, provided it gets final construction approvals by the end of Q1. Its latest cost update assumes a final investment decision by late February. (Denison Mines Corp.)
