According to a new report by S&P Global, the United States has the second-longest lead times in the world for developing a new mine.
Mines in the US go from discovery to production in an average of 29 years, longer than in any other country except Zambia (34 years), the consultancy says.
“The long US lead times stand in contrast to the country’s sizeable resource base. The US copper endowment (more than 275 million tonnes in reserves and resources) is comparable to those of Canada and Australia combined and sufficient to satisfy domestic demand for the foreseeable future,” the report reads.
The United States’ endowment of lithium (more than 43 million tons in reserves and resources) is more than twice that of Australia, which currently accounts for half of the world’s lithium production, S&P says.
For the rest of this article: https://www.mining.com/us-has-second-longest-mine-development-timeline-in-the-world-sp-global-says/