Denison committed to uranium

More than 400 shareholders filled the concert hall of Toronto’s Royal York Hotel to hear the company’s strategy for the year ahead. Denison believes that its future, like its past, rests with uranium. The company says that a turn around in world uranium demand is likely in the 1990s and that shareholders should be patient.

To cash in on potential future demand, Denison, which was built on the uranium mines at Elliot Lake, Ont., plans to continue mining that metal as its core business.

Presiding over her first annual meeting since assuming the position of chairman and chief executive officer last year, Helen Roman- Barber said mining has always been Denison’s strength. She affirmed that Denison will continue to develop uranium as its core business.

“The key to our renewed commitment to uranium is our projection for long-term growth in world demand and the inevitable price increases that will follow,” she said.

Roman-Barber took up her duties as head of the $1.1-billion energy and resource company last year after her father, the late Stephen B. Roman, died suddenly of a heart attack at age 66. This year’s annual meeting began with a minute of silence in his honor.

At least one Denison shareholder expressed concern about the recent cold fusion experiments in the U.S., and asked what effect they might have on future uranium demand.

“We’re monitoring the situation carefully,” Roman-Barber said. “Most experts say commercial application (for fusion energy) would be at least 20 years away.”

When Denison first acquired and developed its Elliot lake uranium deposits nearly 35 years ago, the future seemed to be clearly with nuclear fission energy. Now, recent fusion experiments conducted in the U.S. have created intrigue over the potential energy implications of this new discovery.

On the petroleum side of its business, Denison was hurt last year by the sharp decline in oil prices. The average price the company received for oil in 1988 was 23% below the average price a year earlier.

Shares of Denison have dipped to as low as $5.00 on the Toronto Stock Exchange recently, and one shareholder asked whether further declines are likely. Denison’s management attributed the weakness to low oil prices. Any improvement in Denison’s share price will depend, management said, on what happens with oil and gas prices.

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