US Mine Development Delays Among World's Longest, Second Only To Zambia

The United States has the second longest lead times in the world for developing new mines, averaging 29 years from discovery to production. This extensive timeframe is only surpassed by Zambia, where it takes an average of 34 years. This bureaucratic obstruction significantly hampers the country’s plans for a technology transition, especially in the energy sector, where the demand for critical minerals is surging.

A report by S&P Global, titled “Mine Development Times: The U.S. in Perspective,” highlights this challenge.

“This new analysis underscores a fundamental challenge for the energy transition,” stated Daniel Yergin, the company's vice chairman. "Building the new infrastructure and adopting new technologies in the pursuit of Net-zero 2050 goals will greatly depend on reconciling surging demand with long lead times and other challenges presently encountered in scaling up supply of critical materials,” he said.

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The study examined 268 global mines, most of which are currently operating. Interestingly, only three mines have come into production in the U.S. since 2002. Additionally, 10 non-operating projects have been in production for decades, with one going back as far as 1978. Pre-production values of mines in development have exceeded $100 billion in copper, gold, lithium and zinc.

Despite having substantial mineral resources, including over 275 million tons of copper and over 43 million tons of lithium, the U.S. lags in mineral exploration compared to Canada or Australia.

While Australia saw 57% higher investments over the last 15 years, in Canada, this discrepancy is as high as 81%, owing to a higher certainty for projects to reach production.

Efforts to streamline the process are underway, as the National Mining Association (NMA) started advocating for the revival of the Bureau of Mines, which has been dormant since 1996. The NMA believes this could expedite the permitting process and improve efficiency in mine development.

However, concerns remain about potential bureaucratic bloat. In a recent interview for Benzinga, Eric Saderholm,  American Pacific's USDGF managing director of exploration, expressed caution about this proposal.

“The Bureau of Mines has been gone for about 30 years. It could serve a purpose if it expedites permitting. But if it becomes just another bureaucratic layer, then it doesn’t help. It really depends on who you put in that bureau," he said.

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