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Western critical mineral reshoring faces processing bottlenecks
A copper project can take about 17 years to reach first production, while US permitting can stretch to nearly 30 years, leaving demand to move ahead of supply.
Western governments are trying to reshore critical mineral supply chains, but a mining lawyer says the biggest obstacle is no longer finding ore, it is processing it into materials manufacturers can actually use, Mining.com reports.
Rebecca Seidl-Englesby, who leads the critical minerals and metals practice at Baker Botts, points to long timelines, saying an average copper mine takes about 17 years from discovery to first production and permitting can stretch development to nearly 30 years in the US, while industrial demand shifts much faster.
She also notes China’s downstream dominance, saying China refines roughly half the world’s copper and about 90% of its rare earths, so US ore can still be shipped to Chinese facilities before it becomes usable material.
Even when Western refining capacity comes online, she says manufacturers may need 18 months to two years to qualify output before buying it, meaning new mine supply can remain tied to the same downstream infrastructure unless processing capacity and qualified customers develop alongside extraction.
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