We all keep talking about the delays we have experienced and even the company has said that Angola can be slow but an article I just read about how long it takes to develop mining projects globally is a real eye opener. 21 years on average for a new gold mine and longer for base metals. 29 years average in the US and reportedly only 1 in 750 projects make it to production. With funding looking like it is almost complete, Minbos is looking like it will be a rare success story and despite frustrating missed timelines, around 4 years from scoping study to production is looking pretty good compared to the average. To be fair, that average is from discovery, not scoping study but Minbos has only been manager of this project for around 4 or 5 yrars from memory. Of course base metal projects usually require much more complex and expensive plants so can take much longer to complete engineering, feasibility studies and funding. Minbos definitely has its advantages with much simpler engineering, much lower capital expense and much shorter construction time. No Merchant, that's not pumping, it's facts. I'm also not making excuses for missed timelines which should have been more conservative. Around US$50mill capex for Minbos (with around half already paid with cash and no debt) versus typically around $170- $200mill for the more simple, open pit gold mines and other more complex projects usually costing $300mill to billions of dollars. Capex as low as Minbos's is very rare and the very basic processing required to produce an end product is a big advantage. We are looking so close now to being one of the 1 in 750 that makes it to production.
"S&P Global estimates that it takes an average of 20.8 years worldwide to develop a new gold mine. The time-frame is even longer for copper, nickel, and other base metals – which often produce silver as a byproduct. Regulatory hurdles can delay viable projects for years – or shelve them indefinitely. Thanks to stifling layers of red tape in the United States in particular, as noted by S&P Global, “The US has the second longest mine development times in the world, at almost 29 years on average from first discovery to first production.” To say that it is difficult to get a new mine up and running is an understatement. Per the Colorado School of Mines, only 1 in 750 projects makes it. "
