RE:RE:CRUZ -Massive New Lithium Discovery by Cruz Battery Metals That 20 year time line is understated if you're in certain jurisdictions. I have consolidated a table of permitted mine developments, looked at the date of permit application submissions, and then looked at the discovery dates. I worked backwards to keep the chart fairly simple. It is eye opening to see timelines in excess of 40 years being common. It is very rare to see under 15 years from discovery to production.