Kestrel Economics · Bulletin Beta

This week / Ontario exploration permit

019-3739

A junior exploration company proposes mechanized drilling on 9 mining claims covering 590 hectares in Kenora District, about 12 kilometres southeast of Whitefish Bay.

On holda temporary hold
1,981 dayswaiting since it was posted on 28 May 2021
73% chancestill waiting on 20 Oct 2029

When it is likely to be decided

More likely than not, this application will still be waiting on 20 October 2029, the furthest date the model looks ahead. If it is decided before then, the curve shows when.

73%
30 Oct 2026Nov 2026Apr 2027Oct 2027Oct 202820 Oct 2029
Middle half of the chances (50%) 80% range Still waiting at the furthest date (bar height = its share)
73% chance still undecided on 20 October 2029, the furthest date the model looks ahead

The model looks ahead 3.0 years from the forecast date, to 20 October 2029. It does not try to say when an application still waiting after that will be decided, so every such case is counted together at that date. The bar on the right is that share: the chance this application is still waiting then. It is not a date we expect a decision on. The curve to its left shares out the rest, 27%, over the dates before it.

Forecast made 30 October 2026. Dates are spaced so that the next few weeks and the next few years both fit: the distance from the forecast date grows with the square root of the days.

How it ends

Issued
19%
Refused or withdrawn
8%
Still undecided at the furthest date we look ahead
73%

Key dates

  • A 1 in 10 chance it is decided by16 Aug 2027
  • A 73% chance it is still waiting on20 Oct 2029
  • Chance it is decided within 3 months, by 29 Jan 20274%
  • Chance it is decided within 6 months, by 30 Apr 20277%
  • Already on hold (a temporary hold) since 20 Jan 2024On hold

What pushes it earlier or later

The named factors that move the middle date most for this application, in days, compared with an application that is typical on that factor: + means later, − means earlier. They are the largest pieces, not the whole account.

EarlierLater
The plan includes drilling +34 days
How many decisions the ministry office made in the past six months −9 days
Heavy drilling planned (drills over 150 kilograms) −8 days
Applications waiting at the same ministry office +7 days
Outside the Treaty 9 area −4 days
The applicant’s earlier permits +3 days
Public comments received (count published with the decision) +2 days

Not yet counted, because the model does not measure them yet: Indigenous nations affected; an impact and benefit agreement; an Indigenous-led assessment; a contested duty to consult; referral to the Minister.

How the forecast has moved

Forecasts for this application side by side. Across: the Friday each was made. Up: the date of the decision. The wider a shape at a date, the likelier a decision then; the dark mark is that week's middle date, and the newest is shaded darker. A percentage at the top of a column is the chance of still waiting at the furthest date that forecast looked ahead; each shape below it is drawn to its own width, so it shows when a decision is likeliest if one comes.

Jan 2027Jul 2027Jan 2028Jul 2028Jan 2029Jul 202974%73%
14 AugFirst forecast30 OctLatest

Showing 2 of 12 Friday forecasts: the first, the latest, and the weeks it changed, when something happened to the application or the forecast moved more than its usual weekly wobble.

Questions already settled

  • As we said

    On 24 July 2026 we gave a 94% chance that it would not be decided by 23 October 2026. It wasn’t.

    Made before the calibration record began on 14 August 2026, so it is not counted in the record.

  • As we said

    On 31 July 2026 we gave a 97% chance that it would not be decided by 30 October 2026. It wasn’t.

    Made before the calibration record began on 14 August 2026, so it is not counted in the record.

The application so far

10 May 202130 Oct 2026
Open for public comment Under review On hold
  1. 10 May 2021 Application submitted to the ministry
  2. 18 days later
  3. 28 May 2021 Posted to the registry and opened for public comment
  4. 4 weeks later
  5. 27 Jun 2021 Public comment closed
  6. 2.6 years later
  7. 20 Jan 2024 Put on hold: a temporary hold
  8. 2.8 years later
  9. 30 Oct 2026 Forecast made; still waiting

Dates are the ministry's own. Hover over or tap the strip for the dates and how long each stage took.

Where it is

2 km
Where in Ontario

The outlined area is the mining claims the application covers, 590 hectares in all.

What the application asks for

Activities
  • Mechanized drilling (drills over 150 kilograms)
Mining claims covered
9
Area of those claims
590 hectares

Surroundings

Holds within 50 kilometres in the past year
none held for consultation with an Indigenous nation; none put on a temporary hold
Other exploration plans in circulation within 50 kilometres
1
Workload at the ministry office handling it
89 applications waiting; it decided 59 in the past six months
Applicant
A junior exploration company
The applicant’s earlier exploration permits
None before this one
Published Mondays, noon Toronto time Kestrel EconomicsBULLETIN