July 18 (Reuters) - It takes an average of nearly 29

years to build a new mine in the U.S., the second-longest in the

world behind only Zambia, hampering Washington's efforts to

boost output of lithium, nickel and other metals for the energy

transition, a report said on Thursday.

The report by consultancy S&P Global ( SPGI ) comes amid

rising pressure on U.S. officials to streamline what is seen by

mining companies and some policymakers as a confusing and

lengthy process to obtain a mining permit that harms efforts to

offset China's near-total control of the critical minerals

sector.

S&P studied 268 mining projects across the globe from when a

metal deposit was first discovered until production began. The

report found the development timeline in copper- and cobalt-rich

Zambia to be the longest in the world at roughly 34 years, five

years longer than the U.S.

Canada, Argentina and Mongolia - where Rio Tinto

developed the Oyu Tolgoi copper project -

rounded out the top five longest development periods.

Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Laos had some of

the shortest development times in the world, at roughly 10 to 15

years, while Australia at 20 years was the best among countries

most comparable to the U.S.

The report, which did not offer policy recommendations, was

paid for in part by the National Mining Association, a U.S.

industry trade group. S&P Global ( SPGI ) said the NMA did "not provide

data or substantive input."

The NMA is helping lead a campaign to convince Washington to

revive the long-dormant U.S. Bureau of Mines, Reuters reported

this month. The S&P report noted that Canada and Australia have

federal-level mining offices.

Data on Rio and BHP's Resolution Copper project in

Arizona and Northern Dynasty's Pebble copper and gold

project in Alaska - neither of which are permitted - were

included in the report, which assumed they would open by 2030.

Both projects have faced Indigenous and environmental opposition

that the report did not offer suggestions to overcome.

The report did not discuss how increased use of copper

leaching by Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX ) and others - processes that

do not require new permits - could affect U.S. output of that

key metal.

A high rate of litigation against U.S. mining projects, the

report found, has dampened exploration budgets, with companies

with projects in Canada and Australia spending 81% and 57% more,

respectively, to find new deposits than those in the U.S. in the

past 15 years.

That was despite the U.S. having more than twice the copper

and lithium reserves and resources of those countries, S&P data

show.

The 28-page report also found that, globally, gold mines are

developed the fastest, at an average of 15.2 years, with nickel

mines developing the slowest, at an average of 17.5 years.