Mined the Gaps Challenges Critical-Minerals Fast-Tracking-Argues Trust Could Accelerate Mine Development

Highlights

• Mine development averages 15.7 years from discovery to production, with much of the delay occurring before final permitting begins.
• Large-scale surveys from Australia and Canada link mining acceptance to trust, procedural fairness, and effective environmental regulation.
• A 2026 One Earth analysis found 366 brownfield mines, with 77.9% exceeding multiple socioecological risk thresholds.
• Darby's Adaptive Governance Partnership model proposes continuous regulator-company-community decision-making but lacks real-world validation.
• REEx cautions that restoring trade relations with China complements—but cannot substitute for—supply-chain diversification in critical minerals.