Seamless Permitting Key to Addressing Looming Copper Supply Deficit, Says Osisko Metals CEO

“We're still dealing with a very delicate supply/demand situation … the reality is that a lot of these projects just don't make it to production — I can cite a lot of examples — and that's due to permitting risk,” said Osisko Metals CEO Robert Wares.

Although there’s a relatively balanced copper market in 2024, a global supply deficit is still anticipated by mid-2025, according to Osisko Metals (TSX:OM) CEO Robert Wares.

While many exploration and mining companies are advancing tier-one assets, the CEO believes projects in the feasibility stage should not be considered future supply because jurisdictional and permitting risks are still a factor.

“It's very nice to have a feasibility. But there are tier-one copper assets out there that have been bogged down in permitting nightmares for 10 years, even in North America,” Wares said.

High commodities prices lead to resource nationalism, and that results in jurisdictional risk, Wares explained, pointing to some projects that have gotten caught in “culture litigation, resulting in even more delays.

He said modernizing mining regulations to exclude environmental litigation from the permitting process could be key in addressing the supply gap for critical minerals. “Because when you allow private groups to sue governments to freeze up projects, there's just no end to it. Fortunately for Canada, this kind of culture and legal opportunism has not permeated the system, which makes Canada a very attractive jurisdiction on the permitting side.”

Osisko Metals has completed its 2023 drilling program at the Pine Point joint venture project in the Northwest Territories. Results from the program will be incorporated into a new mineral resource estimate that is set to be released in Q1 2024 and a feasibility study to start in the same period.

Watch the full interview with Osisko Metals CEO Robert Wares above.

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