The 1,426 ha Midwest property consists of three contiguous mineral leases located approximately 750 km north of Saskatoon, Saskatachewan, Canada.

 

In 1966, Esso Resources Canada started initial uranium exploration work in an adjacent area. In 1977, radioactive mineralization was discovered in a drillhole penetrating the regional unconformity at the base of the Athabasca sandstone. The Midwest deposit was delineated in an extensive drill program between 1978 and 1980. The Midwest A deposit is located about 3km to the northeast of the main Midwest deposit in one of the three claims owned by the Midwest Project.

 

The project is a joint venture between Areva Canada Resources Inc. (69.16%), Denison Mines Corp. (25.17%) and Ourd (Canada) Ltd. (5.67%) with Areva being the operator.

 

In December 2007, announced the decision to proceed with the development of the Midwest uranium mine project. The Midwest Project, involves draining part of the Mink Arm of the South McMahon Lake in Northern Saskatchewan to construct an open pit mine about 45 hectares in size and 215 m deep. The pit, as currently designed, will produce an estimated 36 million pounds of U3O8.

 

Subject to regulatory approvals, site construction including the haul road, water treatment and other facilities could begin in mid-2009. Stripping of the rock over the ore was planned to commence in early 2010 with ore removal starting in mid-2011 and continuing through to 2013.

 

The ore would be trucked 15km along a dedicated haul road to the McClean Lake mill for processing.

 

Unit mining costs per bank cubic metre of material excavated is estimated to average $4.69 over the two year life of the mining operation, which translates into $5.02 per lb. of U3O8. The total unit milling cost for Midwest ore is estimated to be $4.86 per pound of U3O8 produced.

 

On 25 November 2008, development of Midwest was postponed due to economic conditions, delays and uncertainties associated with the regulatory approval process. The increasing capital and operating costs and current markets for uranium were also factors attributed to the decision. Environmental assessment and engineering work were to continue.