The plant, located about 373 miles from the US border in Cobalt, Ontario, would be the sole North American producer of refined cobalt for the electric vehicle market.
Based on feedback from a survey of 18,000 people, the research looks at a range of markets and highlights insights into attitudes towards gold around the world.
Gold Fields on Friday raised South Deep’s output targets for this year and next as the company implements the mine’s fifth turnaround plan since its acquisition in 2006.