TORONTO, March 10, 2026, 20:05 EDT
Denison Mines Corp kicked off a winter drilling push at the Wheeler North joint venture up in the Athabasca Basin, northern Saskatchewan, with partner Skyharbour Resources announcing Monday that crews are starting with roughly 2,500 metres of diamond drilling at the Fox Lake Trail target. This marks the beginning of a 7,500-metre drill program for the year, covering Fox Lake Trail, Fork, and Sphinx. Denison holds 49% of the property but has the ability to bump that up to 70%. According to Skyharbour, Denison is in charge and picking up the tab for the program, which sits beside its Wheeler River project and is sandwiched between Cameco’s Key Lake and McArthur River sites.
Denison is ramping up its exploration ambitions just as construction kicks off at Phoenix, the company’s flagship uranium project located at Wheeler River. The Toronto-based miner announced on Feb. 24 that its board had reached a final investment decision—officially greenlighting the build. Site prep and construction are slated to get underway in March, marking what Chief Executive David Cates described as “the beginning of a new era” for Denison. Denison Mines Corp.
Just five days earlier, Denison announced it had secured all final regulatory green lights from Canadian authorities to proceed with Phoenix. The operation is set to rely on in-situ recovery, or ISR—a process that dissolves uranium ore underground before pumping the solution topside. Cates called Phoenix “the first uranium mine in Canada to be approved for ISR mining,” and it also marks the first large Canadian uranium mine to get the construction nod in over two decades. Denison Mines Corp.
Denison shares jumped 5.78% Tuesday, putting the stock near the front of the pack on the S&P/TSX Composite Index, which closed up 0.3%.
Denison told investors in March that work on Phoenix was set to begin this month. Engineering? About 87% done. The company said it held around C$718 million in a mix of cash, physical uranium, and investments. That uranium stash, according to Denison, is there to boost its financing options.
Cost remains the sticking point here. Back in January, Denison put Phoenix’s upfront capex at around C$600 million—about 20% higher than its inflation-adjusted 2023 feasibility figure. Even so, the company stuck with its planned two-year build and a first production goal for mid-2028.
That backdrop played a role. Back in January, Reuters noted uranium spot prices wrapped up 2025 at about $82 per pound, with long-term supply deals landing nearer $100. The squeeze came as nuclear power output climbed and fresh reactors broke ground, adding pressure to the market.
Wheeler North hasn’t moved past the exploration stage yet; it’s not booked as reserves. Skyharbour pointed out that most conductive trends at Fox Lake Trail are barely touched by drilling so far. Denison, for its part, stuck to a mid-2028 target for Phoenix in its March update. The typical mining uncertainties remain: thin drill hits, lagging progress in the field, or construction costs creeping up. And there’s the added challenge—drilling and building in parallel.
