Toronto, March 24, 2026, 12:41 PM EDT
Denison Mines shares climbed Tuesday, after partner Cosa Resources flagged new anomalous radioactivity at the Murphy Lake North uranium project up in northern Saskatchewan. Denison, which trades on NYSE American, was up 1.8% at $3.49 midday—previous close: $3.43.
Denison is shifting gears from exploration to development. Back in February, the company signed off on a final investment decision for the Phoenix uranium mine at Wheeler River—a project with a price tag near C$600 million. Site prep was set to kick off in March, and Denison is sticking to its timeline, still aiming for initial production by mid-2028. If Phoenix comes online as planned, Denison says it would join the short list of producers capable of bringing significant new uranium supply before the decade wraps up.
This is significant for a market where new supply hasn’t caught up. Over the past few months, Reuters noted uranium hovered near $88 per pound—after a surge past $100 back in late January—driven by nuclear demand from fresh reactors and the power needs tied to AI growth. Denison shares, even with Tuesday’s move, still haven’t matched their 52-week peak of $4.43.
Cosa, the operator at Murphy Lake North with a 70% interest—Denison holds the other 30%—reported that drill hole MLN26-013 hit 5 metres of anomalous radioactivity, peaking at 13,900 counts per second. The intercept sits roughly 3 kilometres east of IsoEnergy’s Hurricane deposit. Those are field readings; lab assays for uranium have yet to come in.
Calling it “an exceptional result,” Cosa chief executive Keith Bodnarchuk said the Denison-backed explorer is set to keep drilling Murphy Lake North straight through to 2026. Cosa has already scrapped two other winter targets, clearing the way for crews to return to the new zone right away. TMX Newsfile
Denison CEO David Cates said earlier this month the company was set to start work at the Phoenix site “later this month,” following the close of permitting, procurement, and financing steps. Phoenix is designed as an in-situ recovery mine—an ISR project relying on wells to extract uranium, keeping the ore in place underground and drawing uranium-rich solution to the surface, bypassing traditional mining. PR Newswire
The new drill results drop right into one of the Athabasca Basin’s most crowded neighborhoods. IsoEnergy’s Hurricane deposit sits just next door; NexGen Energy is pushing ahead with its Rook I project; Cameco, still the anchor in the region, runs established operations at both Cigar Lake and McArthur River.
The new drill results, though, arrive with the standard disclaimers. Cosa noted that true widths haven’t been determined yet and assays are still outstanding. Denison, for its part, flagged possible changes ahead for Phoenix—timelines, costs, and output targets could all move as work continues.
Developers are drawing uncommon scrutiny as the fuel chain remains stubbornly tight. “Near-term supply is still at-risk,” Bennett Johnson, who leads nuclear work at the Stanford-backed STEER project, told Reuters Events in February. Federal measures may be shoring up segments of the U.S. fuel cycle, but that doesn’t resolve the squeeze for everyone. Denison, for one, finds itself juggling two narratives: fresh signals from exploration, and the much bigger execution trial looming at Phoenix. Reuters
