Toronto, March 23, 2026, 17:48 EDT
Denison Mines Corp. shares on the NYSE American climbed roughly 3% to $3.43 Monday. As of this move, the latest update on the company’s website remained the March 10 news release—nothing more recent appeared.
Denison is shifting gears—no longer just seeking permits, it’s gearing up for actual construction. The board gave the green light back in February, signing off on a final investment decision for the Phoenix in-situ recovery uranium mine. Construction and site prep were set to kick off in March, with the first uranium production slated for mid-2028. This ISR approach doesn’t dig traditional shafts; instead, it pushes solution underground to pull uranium to the surface.
Phoenix sits at the center of it all. With the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission signing off on Feb. 19, Denison declared Phoenix the country’s first uranium site licensed for ISR mining—also marking the first major uranium mine in Canada to get a construction green light in over two decades. Chief Executive David Cates has argued the project positions Denison as “one of the few uranium suppliers globally” able to bring significant new volumes to market before the decade’s up. Denison Mines Corp.
Monday’s rally wasn’t limited to Denison. Cameco jumped roughly 4%, Uranium Energy tacked on 3.4%, and NexGen added 1.2%. Over on the small-cap side, the Russell 2000 finished 2.3% higher, snapping back after oil retreated and expectations eased for additional U.S. rate hikes. “What’s up the most today is not a surprise,” said Bob Doll, chief investment officer at Crossmark Global Investments, pointing to traders moving into cyclical stocks. Reuters
Denison reiterated its project schedule in the year-end release on March 10. The company announced plans to begin site prep later in March, reporting that roughly 87% of total engineering should be wrapped up by the end of 2025, with the last phase of engineering slated for completion by mid-2026.
The budget climbed compared to the 2023 feasibility study. Denison’s capital update in January set post-FID initial capital at roughly C$600 million—about 20% higher than the 2023 estimate once adjusted for inflation. That same number showed up again in the March 10 filing.
Denison’s top property in northern Saskatchewan, Wheeler River, stands as the largest undeveloped uranium project in the eastern Athabasca Basin. The site is held in a 90%-10% joint venture with JCU (Canada) Exploration, Denison running the project.
But the real challenge now is execution. Denison has already flagged that project costs and key assumptions could shift as procurement or operations move forward. There’s also a legal battle brewing: the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has launched a judicial review aiming to reverse Saskatchewan’s environmental sign-off. Denison, for its part, says it’s prepared to contest the case.
Commodity action wasn’t one-directional. Uranium futures slipped 1.1% to $83.50 on March 23, so Denison’s rally didn’t have the benefit of a spot price boost that day.
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