The average period of field development from discovery to commercial commissioning is steadily increasing. For mines launched from 2020 to 2024, it reached an average of 17.8 years, which is almost three times longer than the launch time from 1990 to 1999, according to a study by S&PGlobalMarketIntelligence.
"The increasing periods of exploration, technology identification, approval, obtaining permits and financing affect the timing of obtaining the first ingot," said S&P expert Paul Manalo.
The study uses information about 20 fields that are currently undergoing at least a feasibility study and already have preliminary launch dates.
The production start time for these assets is already almost 28 years, which is almost five times longer than the time observed in the 1990s. And most of all, the delay in the development of projects is the expectation of the start of construction after the protection of feasibility studies.
Based on a study of 214 active and not yet commissioned fields from 16 countries on different continents, S&P experts concluded that the Philippines takes the most time to launch.
Of the 214 assets— 121 are gold, 67 copper, 17 nickel, 6 zinc and 3 lithium.
At the same time, it takes the most time to launch nickel mines — an average of 18.6 years, and the least — in gold deposits — 14.2 years.
Open—pit mining usually takes more time for exploration, while an underground mine takes more time for construction.
Assets in the Philippines and Russia have the longest terms.
The Tampakan copper and gold mining project is located in the south of the Philippines and has the longest duration — 36 years. The field, discovered in 1992, is expected to begin operations in 2028. Active work on it began after the government lifted a 12-year ban on open-pit mining in 2022.
In Russia, three copper and gold deposits discovered in the late 1980s and early 1990s extended the average launch time of projects in the country due to the fact that this coincided with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In addition, these assets are located in the Far Eastern region with limited infrastructure.
But the project with the longest implementation period, the copper—gold Wafi-Golpu, is located in Papua New Guinea. The field was discovered in 1990, and production may not begin until 2030 or even later. Local legal, environmental, and social requirements have led to significant delays and include disputes between government agencies at various levels over the location of tailings ponds and their possible environmental impacts. Negotiations with the Government of Papua New Guinea mining Harmony Gold Mining and Newmont were difficult, while
