en.Wedoany.com Reported - Environmental, economic, and political realities are driving heightened attention to the domestic supply of critical minerals. As the energy transition accelerates, two key minerals—uranium and lithium—have become focal points in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Denison Mines, renowned for its long-standing success in the uranium sector, is advancing its Wheeler River project on the southeastern edge of the Athabasca Basin. This flagship project includes the Phoenix and Gryphon mineable deposits, which together are said to constitute the largest and highest-grade uranium resource in northern Saskatchewan, totaling over 70 million pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 19.14%.
Denison made a final investment decision in March 2026 for the in-situ recovery (ISR) process at the Phoenix deposit, with a two-year construction period and commercial production expected to begin in mid-2028. The total project investment is $700 million (on a 100% basis), including $100 million in proof-of-concept work that began about 10 years ago, with pre-production capital expenditure (CapEx) set at $420 million.
Phoenix is the first uranium mine in Canada to receive federal approval for construction in over 20 years and the first in the Athabasca Basin to utilize ISR technology. On an after-tax, 100% basis, the base case net present value is $1.57 billion (discounted at 8%), with an internal rate of return of 73%. Based on uranium prices ranging from $68.90 to $78.36 per pound, the project is expected to recoup costs within approximately 12 months.
Based on proven and probable reserves of 219,000 tonnes at an average grade of 11.7% U3O8, containing 56.7 million pounds of U3O8, the Wheeler River mine life is approximately 10 years. The first five years will recover 41.9 million pounds of U3O8, with the remaining 14.8 million pounds mined in the subsequent five years. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) are $244.92 per pound or $18.41 per pound.
The ISR plan is based solely on proven and probable reserves. The Phoenix deposit has measured and indicated resources of 2.16 million tonnes at an average grade of 8.3% U3O8, containing 70.5 million pounds of U3O8, plus inferred resources of 5,600 tonnes at a grade of 2.6% U3O8, containing 300,000 pounds of U3O8.
Uranium-bearing solutions will be processed at a new plant built on-site at Wheeler River. The plant is designed to process solutions containing 22.6 grams per liter, with an expected recovery rate of 96.5%. Production is expected to begin in mid-2028.
Denison's basement-hosted Gryphon deposit is planned for underground mining. The project is expected to have a mine life of six years, with an average annual production of 7.6 million pounds of U3O8 (on a 100% basis). Probable reserves are 1.3 million tonnes at a grade of 1.7% U3O8. Denison plans to allocate $737.4 million for initial capital expenditure to build a mine with all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of $34.50 per pound ($25.47 per pound). Yellowcake will be processed at the McClean Lake mill, in which Denison holds a 22.5% interest.
NexGen Energy, the latest company to receive federal approval for uranium mine construction, is in financing negotiations to begin construction of its Arrow deposit as early as this summer. The deposit is part of the Rook I project, located on the southwestern edge of the Athabasca Basin, not far from Patterson Lake.
A 2021 feasibility study outlined an underground mine plan for the Arrow vein-type deposit, suitable for two shafts and longhole mining. NexGen also plans to build a new processing system including ore sorting, grinding, leaching, liquid-solid separation, and yellowcake drying, calcining, and packaging, along with a paste backfill plant to store all tailings underground. The mine life is 11 years.
The deposit has measured and indicated resources of 3.8 million tonnes at a grade of 3.10% U3O8, containing 256.7 million pounds of U3O8. Proven and probable reserves are estimated at 4.6 million tonnes at a grade of 2.37% U3O8, containing 239.6 million pounds of U3O8. Inferred resources are 4.4 million tonnes at a grade of 0.83% U3O8, containing 809.7 million pounds of U3O8.
According to The Northern Miner, NexGen's costs have risen nearly 70% since the feasibility study was completed. By August 2024, based on a long-term uranium price of $95 per pound, capital costs had risen to $2.2 billion, with the after-tax net present value falling to $6.3 billion (discounted at 8%) and the internal rate of return dropping to 45%.
To offset rising Arrow costs, the company maintains a rigorous and successful exploration program at the Patterson Corridor East (PCE) discovery zone, 3.5 kilometers from the Arrow deposit. In May, the company reported high-grade results, including a 13.0-meter interval grading 5.2% U3O8, a 10-meter interval grading 3.95% U3O8, and a 6.0-meter interval grading 2.4% U3O8, confirming a high-grade subdomain.
Exploration also confirmed a new high-grade subdomain 850 meters below surface, with drilling returning a 4.5-meter interval grading 4.8% U3O8, including a higher-grade section of 0.5 meters grading 33.3% U3O8.
"The discovery of a new high-grade subdomain highlights the significant growth potential remaining at PCE. With the structural supply gap widening in the market and the impact of a generation of underinvestment in the uranium supply chain, the urgency to find and bring new reliable uranium supply into production has never been greater," said Leigh Curyer, founder and CEO of NexGen, upon the release of the results.
One of the most prominent projects in the Athabasca Basin is the Patterson Lake South (PLS) project on the southwestern edge of the basin. The discovery was made by Fission Uranium in 2012, with exploration delineating the shallow, high-grade Triple R deposit.
With investment from Canadian and foreign companies, Fission advanced the project to the feasibility stage, with plans for production in 2029. In 2024, Australia's Paladin Energy made an all-share takeover offer of $1.1 billion to acquire Fission Uranium and its PLS project, with the transaction approved by year-end.
PLS is a shallow, high-grade deposit with significant expansion potential. The company is in the permitting stage, with front-end engineering and design being completed and engagement with Indigenous partners underway. Paladin could make a construction decision as early as 2027, with first uranium production in 2031.
The project plans to build a 1,000-tonne-per-day open-pit mine using 30-tonne trucks and loaders. Due to the deposit being hosted in basement rock, ground freezing is planned. An on-site processing plant and auxiliary infrastructure will also be built. The plant will process ore at a grade of 1.41% U3O8 with a recovery rate of 97.0%. Initial capital costs for the PLS mine and plant are estimated at $1.16 billion, plus $325 million in sustaining capital costs.
A 2023 feasibility study showed, based on a uranium price of $90 per pound, the Triple R deposit has an after-tax net present value of $1.2 billion (discounted at 8%), an internal rate of return of 27.2%, a payback period of 2.4 years, and all-in sustaining costs of $15.2 per pound.
Probable reserves for the Triple R deposit are 3 million tonnes at a grade of 1.41% U3O8, containing 93.7 million pounds of U3O8. Indicated resources are 2.7 million tonnes at a grade of 1.94% U3O8, containing 114.9 million pounds of U3O8; inferred resources are 635 million tonnes at a grade of 1.10% U3O8, containing 15.4 million pounds of U3O8. The ore also contains minor recoverable gold. The total mine life is 10 years, with total production of 90.9 million pounds of U3O8 and an average annual production of 9.1 million pounds.
Purepoint Uranium is one of the most active junior mining companies in the Athabasca Basin, with six wholly-owned projects and six joint ventures with Cameco, Orano, and IsoEnergy. Purepoint and IsoEnergy have created a 50-50 flagship joint venture on the Dorado project, located near IsoEnergy's Hurricane deposit.
The Dorado project includes the former Turnor Lake, Geiger, Edge, and Full Moon claims, covering an area of over 980 square kilometers. The first major success was the discovery of the Nova uranium zone, with drill hole PG25 07A returning a 0.4-meter interval grading 8.3% U3O8 within a 2.1-meter interval (average grade 1.6% U3O8).
Purepoint began its 2026 drilling program in January to follow up on the Nova discovery. A winter program of 10 holes totaling 4,300 meters returned peak readings of 73,100 counts per second (cps) averaging over 1.8 meters. More importantly, it traced a strike length of at least one kilometer, with the structure open in all directions. Drilling will continue at Dorado in July and August to test priority targets, with a total of 7 holes totaling approximately 3,150 meters. Unconformity depths typically range from 30 to 300 meters.
Expert Geophysics has completed advanced 3D modeling MobileMT surveys on three of Purepoint's other claims—Celeste East, Russell South, and Tabbernor—and the use of this technology will help plan upcoming drilling programs more confidently and understand basement electromagnetic signatures. Purepoint holds a 32.9% stake in IsoEnergy.
IsoEnergy, with a portfolio of high-potential exploration projects in the eastern Athabasca Basin, is advancing its Larocque East claim, which hosts the Hurricane deposit. Hurricane has 63.8 million tonnes of indicated resources at a grade of 34.5% U3O8, considered the highest published indicated resource grade globally, with the indicated portion containing 48.6 million pounds of U3O8. There are also lower-grade inferred resources of 54.3 million tonnes at a grade of 2.2% U3O8, containing 2.7 million pounds of U3O8. Strong radioactivity detected along the Hurricane South trend confirms the continuity and expansion potential of Hurricane. The deposit is located just 325 meters below surface, 35 kilometers northwest of Orano's McClean Lake mine and mill, where ore could potentially be processed.
In terms of lithium resources, with all necessary permits in hand, Saskatchewan's first lithium producer is likely to be Prairie Lithium. In Canada, the company focuses on the area west of Estevan in the southeastern part of the province, which benefits from convenient infrastructure due to years of oil production.
To date, Prairie Lithium has selected three well pad locations, with the first already permitted. Phase 1 will use a commercial-scale direct lithium extraction (DLE) unit for production, targeting an annual output of 150 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). The technology involves drilling production wells into the Duperow Formation, a surface processing plant to pre-treat the lithium-rich brine to increase lithium content, and disposal wells to inject the depleted brine into another underground formation. Prairie Lithium aims to start production quickly, reducing costs and operational complexity by producing an intermediate product. The company says DLE is also more efficient, sustainable, and environmentally responsible compared to traditional evaporation ponds. Indicated resources of 4.6 million tonnes of LCE at a grade of 98 mg/L have been identified to support the start of production.
The concentrated brine will be upgraded to battery-grade lithium carbonate at a refinery in South Korea, with which Prairie Lithium has a 10-year agreement to off-take 150 tonnes of LCE annually. A non-binding off-take agreement has also been signed with a North American refinery with a capacity of 6,000 tonnes of LCE per year. Three wells have been drilled to serve Well Pad 1, two for Well Pad 2, and one for Well Pad 3. The goal is to build the project pad by pad, eventually reaching 10 well pads. First production from Well Pad 1 is expected before the end of this year. Prairie Lithium, headquartered in West Perth, Western Australia, also has an early-stage similar project in New Mexico.
EMP Metals is also focused on the Viewfield area in southeastern Saskatchewan, specifically the Aurora project in the Duperow Formation. Test wells drilled at the Viewfield project have delineated estimated indicated resources of 931,038 tonnes of LCE at an average concentration of 141 mg/L, and inferred resources of 488,493 tonnes of LCE at an average of 107 mg/L. A test hole at Mansur has inferred resources of 628,786 tonnes at a concentration of 116 mg/L.
The Aurora project will be rolled out in three phases. Phase 1 is a demonstration plant that will operate at a continuous flow rate of 10 cubic meters per day this year and next, aiming to validate engineering, optimize process flows, and produce high-purity lithium chemicals. In May, EMP received the first seven truckloads of demonstration plant equipment from Saltworks Technologies. Phase 2 will scale up production to commercial levels by expanding the technology from the demonstration plant, with construction potentially starting next year after financing is secured, taking 24 months. From 2029, EMP expects to fully expand across the basin, planning to connect modules of 1,500 tonnes per year into hubs of 6,000 tonnes per year, using scalable, repeatable skid-mounted technology.
EMP notes that the lithium brine here requires drilling to only about 1,800 meters, has higher grades ranging from 125 mg/L to 259 mg/L, and is very clean, free of hydrogen sulfide or residual oil, with low contaminants.
With the development of new projects, Saskatchewan will remain one of the world's premier uranium producers for a long time to come, while also becoming a significant domestic source of lithium to meet growing demand in the electric vehicle and renewable energy storage sectors.
