* To put mill on care and maintenance

* Mill will produce 1.86 mln pounds uranium in 2010

TORONTO, Dec 15 - Denison Mines (DML.TO) said on Tuesday it will suspend the McClean Lake uranium processing mill in mid-2010, following the halting of nearby uranium projects that were destined to supply it with ore.

The mill -- a joint venture of Canada's Denison and France's Areva (CEPFi.PA) -- will continue to process stockpiled uranium until it closes, and should produce 1.86 million pounds of uranium before it goes on care and maintenance in July, Denison said.

The mill located in the uranium-rich Athabasca region of northern Saskatchewan, has capacity of 12 million pounds a year.

It was opened in 1999 to process uranium ore mined from the McClean Lake mine, and expanded more recently in order to take on ore from the Cigar Lake project, a joint venture of Cameco (CCO.TO) and Areva, but that mine flooded in 2006 while under construction.

Denison has also postponed development of the nearby Midwest and Caribou uranium projects due to retreating uranium prices.

The company said the mill will retain staff to maintain it and keep it ready to restart if one of the projects comes on line.

($1=$1.06 Canadian) (Reporting by Cameron French; editing by Rob Wilson)

Canada