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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:June 23, 1999

COGEMA McCLEAN LAKE BEGINS FULL OPERATION

COGEMA Resources Inc. of Saskatoon announced today that it began feeding stockpiled uranium ore into the grinding circuit of its mill at McClean Lake at 8 p.m. yesterday, June 22, 1999. The grinding process is the first step in producing the final product, uranium concentrate, which is commonly referred to as yellowcake.

COGEMA is the operator and majority (70%) owner of the McClean Lake uranium project in northern Saskatchewan.

"We expect to be producing the first barrels of concentrate in about ten days," said COGEMA Resources President and CEO Arnaud de Bourayne. "All of us, including the 300 staff and contractors working at McClean, are thrilled to have the project up and running," de Bourayne added. "COGEMA developed stringent operational controls and comprehensive monitoring programs to the satisfaction of federal and provincial regulatory agencies to ensure a very high level of environmental and worker protection."

On June 17, COGEMA received final approval from the Atomic Energy Control Board for an amendment to the McClean Lake operating licence. This amendment allows the operation of the JEB Mill and tailings management facility, into which the residues from the milling process are placed. Final approvals from Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management have since been received.

"Additional good news is that a tentative agreement was reached last night with our unionized employees, members of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP), Local 48-S, for a contract that will extend to May 31, 2002", said Senior Vice President and Corporate Counsel, Tim Gitzel. "We look forward to continuing the strong, co-operative team effort with CEP and our employees during the start-up and operation of the McClean Lake project."

The McClean uranium deposit was first discovered in 1979. The mill, constructed from 1995 to 1998, will process the ore from the mined JEB pit, the nearby Sue pits and the McClean underground mine planned for future development. The mill is planned, subject to future approvals, to handle ore from the Midwest and the Cigar Lake mines. COGEMA's partners in the McClean Lake Project are Denison Mines Limited (22.5%) and OURD (Canada) Co. Ltd. (7.5%).

Headquartered in Saskatoon, COGEMA Resources Inc. operates mining and milling facilities at Cluff Lake in northern Saskatchewan, is operator and majority owner of the McClean Lake and Midwest uranium projects, and part owner of the Cigar Lake, McArthur River and Key Lake uranium projects. Of the company's employees at the mine sites, more than 50% are from northern communities.

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For further information please contact:

Tim Gitzel
Senior Vice President & Corporate Counsel
COGEMA Resources Inc.
Phone: (306) 343-4501

McCLEAN LAKE PROJECT

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

• The JEB ore body has been mined out and the ore stockpiled. The JEB pit has been developed as a tailings management facility (TMF).

• The Sue open pit has been mined to the ore zone.

• The McClean (JEB) Mill is now processing ore to produce uranium concentrate; its water treatment plant has been operating for more than 2 years. In the future, the mill will be expanded to handle ore from the Cigar Lake and Midwest deposits.

• Workers are flown in from their home communities. COGEMA staff are on a 7 day in - 7 day out schedule.

• McClean's workforce (more than half northerners) comprises about 280 COGEMA employees, 56 long-term contractors and 50 short-term contractors.

• The expected life of the combined McClean/Cigar project is about 40 years.

• Designed with advanced features not found anywhere else in the world, the JEB TMF is developed to take tailings produced by the JEB Mill in processing ore from the McClean, Cigar Lake and Midwest Projects. During decommissioning, the TMF will be completely back filled with waste rock, capped with till material and re-vegetated. Following decommissioning, monitoring will continue to confirm satisfactory performance for long term isolation and containment of the tailings.

• The McClean site is located about 700 km north of Saskatoon.