Wood Canada, part of Scotland’s Wood engineering group, will manage construction of the proposed C$600 million Phoenix in-situ recovery uranium mine in Saskatchewan, Canada, after winning owner Denison Mines Corp’s tender process.
Phoenix is part of Denison’s Wheeler River project in the Athabasca Basin. Its circa-$500 million 2023 feasibility study capital cost (in 2026 Canadian dollars) was recently updated to $600 million. Denison is aiming for a 2028 production start.
Wood, which co-authored the 2023 FS, has continued to refine the project’s design over the past two years.
“In anticipation of receiving our federal permits to prepare the site and construct the Wheeler River project, we are pleased to announce the award of the construction management contract to our trusted partners at Wood,” Denison CEO David Cates said.
“Given Denison’s strong balance sheet and advanced state of project engineering, construction planning and procurement we stand ready to make a final investment decision and commence construction shortly after securing federal approval of the environmental assessment and licence to prepare the site [to] construct a mine and mill.”
Denison said in January Phoenix’s 20% cost increase reflected inflationary adjustments, project refinements and improved estimation precision.
“Having supported Phoenix from the feasibility stage through detailed design we understand the technical and execution requirements of this project,” said Wood projects western hemisphere president, John Day.
The Phoenix contract covers procurement and construction management scopes, with Wood responsible for the processing plant, some site infrastructure and integrated project controls.
Denison describes Wheeler River as the “largest undeveloped uranium project in the infrastructure-rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region in northern Saskatchewan”.
