How Long It Takes to Build a Mine in Canada and What Ottawa Is Changing

Canadian mines average 16 years from discovery to production. What the Building Canada Act, Major Projects Office and provincial reforms change.

Key takeaways

Canadian mines averaged 16 years from discovery to production in an S&P Global study of mines that started between 2002 and 2023.
The Major Projects Office, launched August 29, 2025, aims to cut approvals for projects of national interest to a maximum of two years.
Newfoundland and Labrador signed a one project, one review agreement on September 8, 2026, joining a list of provinces with similar agreements.

A new mine takes years to go from discovery to production, and permitting is one of the slower stages. The federal government’s answer since 2025 is the Building Canada Act, a Major Projects Office with a two-year approval target, and “one project, one review” agreements with the provinces. Here is what the data says about timelines and what has actually changed.

How long it takes now

S&P Global Market Intelligence studied 127 mines that started production between 2002 and 2023. The average time from discovery to production was 15.7 years. For the 11 Canadian mines in that sample, the average was 16 years.

That figure covers everything: exploration, resource drilling, economic studies, financing, permitting and construction. Permits are only part of it. The S&P study also showed how survivor bias works: when it added projects still in development, the U.S. average stretched to about 29 years, second only to Zambia.

Timelines vary widely by commodity, jurisdiction and deposit type, so an average hides a lot. A deposit that needs years of extra drilling, or a project that waits for a better metal price before financing, will run long regardless of how fast permits move.

Ottawa’s own framing, when it launched the Major Projects Office, was that approvals for nationally significant projects take five or more years, and that the office would cut that to a maximum of two.

The Building Canada Act and the Major Projects Office

The Building Canada Act received Royal Assent on June 26, 2025, as part of Bill C-5. It lets the government list projects of national interest in Schedule 1. Once listed, the federal approvals named in Schedule 2 are handled through one consolidated review, rather than a series of separate ones. The government weighs five factors, including economic benefit, likelihood of successful execution, Indigenous interests and clean growth. Crown consultation with affected Indigenous rights holders is required before listing.

The Major Projects Office launched August 29, 2025, headquartered in Calgary, led by CEO Dawn Farrell. The Prime Minister’s announcement said it would “reduce the approval timeline for projects of national interest to a maximum of two years.” It also coordinates financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the Canada Growth Fund and the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program.

Listing does not waive every requirement. The government’s June 2026 notice said the Act does not affect or replace legal requirements related to nuclear safety, and it committed to consult Indigenous rights holders, provinces and territories before final listing decisions.

Projects referred so far

Referral to the office and listing under Schedule 1 are separate steps. Referral means the office works on the project. Listing triggers the consolidated federal approval.

Date	Mining projects	Other projects
September 11, 2025	Red Chris expansion (B.C., copper, Newmont majority owner); a copper mine in east-central Saskatchewan	LNG Canada Phase 2, Darlington New Nuclear, Contrecoeur container terminal
November 2025	A nickel project near Timmins, Ont.; a graphite mine in Quebec; a tungsten and molybdenum project in New Brunswick	North Coast Transmission Line, Ksi Lisims LNG, Iqaluit hydro

The first tranche totalled over C$60 billion in investment, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The first Schedule 1 listings are still in process. On June 24, 2026 the government began the process to list three projects: a nuclear waste deep geological repository in Ontario, the Mackenzie Valley Highway and the Grays Bay Road and Port. On August 28, 2026 it announced the next step toward possible listing of the Mackenzie Valley Highway and Roberts Bank Terminal 2. None of these is a mine.

Two mine milestones stand out. Newmont’s Red Chris block cave received an amended B.C. environmental assessment certificate and Mines Act permit on June 19, 2026, about nine months after its federal referral. Newmont said a final investment decision is expected later in 2026. The Quebec graphite mine broke ground on May 19, 2026, with the Prime Minister attending.

One project, one review: the provinces

Most mines need both federal and provincial approval. Co-operation agreements let one assessment satisfy both. As of September 8, 2026, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada lists signed agreements with:

British Columbia (2019)
New Brunswick and Ontario (December 2025)
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (March 2026)
Alberta and Manitoba (April 2026)
Newfoundland and Labrador (September 8, 2026)

The agency says it is re-engineering its process to complete major project reviews within one year.

Provinces are also changing their own systems. Ontario’s One Project, One Process framework, under section 153.0.1 of the Mining Act, uses a single permitting team across ministries and aims for “a 50 per cent reduction in government review timelines.” British Columbia’s Infrastructure Projects Act received Royal Assent in May 2025, and three projects were accepted for accelerated permitting in February 2026, according to McCarthy Tetrault.

The math: what two years does to sixteen

Take the S&P average of 16 years from discovery to production for Canadian mines. If a project’s federal approval stage fell from five years to two, as the government describes, the saving would be three years.

3 / 16 = about 19% of the total timeline.

This is an upper bound for a simple case. Federal and provincial reviews often run in parallel, so cutting one does not always shorten the whole schedule. Studies, financing and construction still take the time they take.

What to watch

The first Schedule 1 listings under the Building Canada Act, and whether any mine is added.
Further referrals to the Major Projects Office, posted on its news page.
Newmont’s final investment decision on the Red Chris block cave, expected in the second half of 2026.
New co-operation agreements with provinces and territories not yet on the Impact Assessment Agency’s list, such as Quebec and Saskatchewan.
Actual review durations under the Impact Assessment Agency’s one-year target, visible in its public registry.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to build a mine in Canada?

S&P Global Market Intelligence studied 127 mines that started production between 2002 and 2023 and found an average of 15.7 years from discovery to production. For the 11 Canadian mines in the sample, the average was 16 years. That covers exploration, resource drilling, economic studies, financing, permitting and construction, not just permits.

What is the Major Projects Office in Canada?

The Major Projects Office launched August 29, 2025, headquartered in Calgary and led by CEO Dawn Farrell. The Prime Minister said it would reduce the approval timeline for projects of national interest to a maximum of two years. It also coordinates financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the Canada Growth Fund and the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program.

What does the Building Canada Act do?

The Building Canada Act received Royal Assent on June 26, 2025, as part of Bill C-5. It lets the government list projects of national interest in Schedule 1. Once listed, the federal approvals named in Schedule 2 go through one consolidated review instead of separate ones. Crown consultation with affected Indigenous rights holders is required before listing.