18 years? Usually much quicker in Africa as the permitting process is easier. I've seen projects pour their first gold 4-5 years after completing a DFS and getting financing...
These guys don't even have a DFS of course. Lot's more drilling to do - they know the current resource likely a bit too lean to be economically viable (nearly 1/2 of the resource is still in the Inferred category and 4 Moz @ 1 g/t in the DRC is no slam dunk. I think they will need to add 50%+ to the resource and find some higher grade, IMO...). And then probably a year's worth of engineering studies; I don't think they've done more than basic met work for this project.
But, they've got probably approaching $10M in the piggy bank to conduct work -> lots of drilling -> news releases -> will improve the shareprice if results are favorable and the gold price picks up a bit.