Wheeler River Project

Denison Mines Corp. (Denison) is proposing to develop an in situ recovery uranium mining and processing operation located in the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan, approximately 600 km north of the city of Saskatoon, 4 km west of Highway 914 and midway between Cameco Corporation's Key Lake Mill and McArthur River Mine. The proposed Wheeler River mine would produce up to 5400 tonnes of U 3 O 8 annually for twenty years.

Under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, Denison's proposal requires approval by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). An environmental assessment (EA) conducted under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 is required, and an EA decision affirming that the proposed activities will not cause significant adverse environmental effects, before the CNSC can make a licensing decision on this proposal.

This project is also subject to the environmental assessment requirements of the Government of Saskatchewan.

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Disclaimer

This map is for illustrative purposes. The markers represent the approximate locations based on available data. More than one marker may be identified for a given assessment.

 
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Latest update

August 29, 2023: On August 18, 2023, Denison Mines Corp. (Denison) re-submitted responses to the Federal Indigenous Review Team's information requests (IRs) for the proposed Wheeler River Project to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). CNSC staff conducted a completeness check and determined that outstanding IRs have passed completeness and supporting submissions are adequate to proceed to the EIS Technical Review. More information can be found in the August 28, 2023 letter to Denison, and completeness check table.

The next phase of technical review by the Federal Indigenous Review Team will run from August 30, 2023 to November 27, 2023. Subject Matter experts will review the responses to IRs provided to Denison in March 2023, which includes the following documents:

August 11, 2023 - On July 14, 2023, Denison Mines Corp. (Denison) submitted responses to Federal Indigenous Review Team information requests for the proposed Wheeler River Project to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). CNSC staff conducted a completeness check and determined that insufficient information was provided in order to proceed with a technical review. Denison is expected to provide additional information and resubmit responses to IRs and supporting documents at a later date. More information can be found in the August 29, 2023 letter to Denison, and completeness check table.

June 27, 2023 - Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) staff have now reviewed all comments received, and these have been detailed in public comment tables. These can be found on the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry at the following links: 

It is expected that Denison, CNSC staff and any other parties provide responses to these comments by the time a final EIS is submitted. These will be posted to the registry at a later date, along with the final EIS.

March 21, 2023 - The Federal Indigenous Review Team (FIRT) has completed a technical review of Denison Mines Corp.'s draft environmental impact statement (EIS) submission and has found that the information provided does not fully address the regulatory requirements for the environmental assessment (EA). The technical review resulted in 238 information requests (IRs), found in Annex 1, as well as 49 Advice to Proponent comments, found in Annex 2.

The following documents have been posted:

CNSC staff expects Denison to submit complete responses to all IRs and Advice to Proponent comments, along with a revised EIS and supporting documentation. Denison's responses may be reviewed several times to ensure the responses meet requirements. Once the draft EIS meets regulatory requirements, CNSC staff will proceed with developing an EA report.

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Key documents

Key documents
Document Number Document Title File Date
94 CNSC staff completeness check table of the responses to Information Requests for the proposed Wheeler River Project (August 29, 2023) PDF (348 KB) August 29, 2023
90 Letter to Denison Mines Corp. regarding CNSC staff completeness check of the responses to Information Requests for the proposed Wheeler River Project (August 29, 2023) PDF (386 KB) August 29, 2023
93 Update to Indigenous Engagement Activities for the Wheeler River Project - draft EIS (August 18, 2023) PDF (416 KB) August 18, 2023
92 Wheeler River Project Commitments Table - draft EIS (August 18, 2023) PDF (554 KB) August 18, 2023
91 Wheeler River Project: Denison's Responses to Information Requests from the Federal and Indigenous Review Team (August 18, 2023) PDF (37.8 MB) August 18, 2023
85 For response by regulators: Consolidated comments from Indigenous Nations and Communities and the Public on the draft environmental impact statement (EIS), for the proposed Wheeler River Project PDF (292 KB) June 27, 2023
84 For Denison's response: Consolidated comments from Indigenous Nations and Communities and the Public on the draft environmental impact statement (EIS), for the proposed Wheeler River Project PDF (2.4 MB) June 27, 2023
83 Annex 2 - FIRT Advice to Proponent for the Wheeler River Project Draft EIS PDF (505 KB) March 20, 2023
82 Annex 1 - Information Requests for the Wheeler River Project draft EIS PDF (1.5 MB) March 20, 2023
81 Cover Letter - CNSC to Denison Results of the Federal Indigenous Technical Review of the Wheeler River Project Draft EIS PDF (225 KB) March 20, 2023
67 Wheeler River Project: EIS Executive Summary Poster - Dene Version PDF (845 KB) January 13, 2023
66 Wheeler River Project: EIS Executive Summary Poster - Cree Version PDF (945 KB) January 13, 2023
65 Combined Appendices for the Wheeler River Project Draft EIS PDF (240.5 MB) November 21, 2022
22 Wheeler River Project: Executive Summary for the draft EIS - English Version PDF (10.5 MB) November 21, 2022
20 Wheeler River Project: Draft Environmental Impact Statement PDF (140.2 MB) November 21, 2022
14 Project Description - Wheeler River Project - Revised December 2020 PDF (15.5 MB) December 31, 2020

Contacts

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Jes Way, Environmental Review Officer
280 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5S9
Telephone: 343-540-6213 or 1-800-668-5284
Email: wheelerriver@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca


  • Location

    • Russell Lake (Saskatchewan)

  • Nature of Activity

    • Nuclear Energy
    • Mines and Minerals

  • Assessment Status

    In progress

  • Start Date

    2019-05-31

  • Proponent

    Denison Mines Corp.

  • Authorities

    • Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

  • Assessment Type

    Environmental assessment under CEAA 2012

  • Reference Number

    80178

Nearby assessments

...within 200 kilometres
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