Kestrel Economics · Bulletin Beta

This week / Ontario exploration permit

019-8754

A junior exploration company proposes mechanized drilling on 6 mining claims covering 124 hectares in Kenora District, about 26 kilometres northwest of Red Lake Road and about 58 kilometres southwest of Ear Falls.

On holdwaiting on consultation with an Indigenous nation
883 dayswaiting since it was posted on 30 May 2024
71% chancestill waiting on 27 May 2030

When it is likely to be decided

More likely than not, this application will still be waiting on 27 May 2030, the furthest date the model looks ahead. If it is decided before then, the curve shows when.

71%
30 Oct 2026Dec 2026Oct 2027Oct 202827 May 2030
Middle half of the chances (50%) 80% range Still waiting at the furthest date (bar height = its share)
71% chance still undecided on 27 May 2030, the furthest date the model looks ahead

The model looks ahead 3.6 years from the forecast date, to 27 May 2030. 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, 29%, 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
17%
Refused or withdrawn
12%
Still undecided at the furthest date we look ahead
71%

Key dates

  • A 1 in 10 chance it is decided by26 Sep 2027
  • A 71% chance it is still waiting on27 May 2030
  • Chance it is decided within 3 months, by 29 Jan 20273%
  • Chance it is decided within 6 months, by 30 Apr 20276%
  • Already on hold (waiting on consultation with an Indigenous nation) since 26 Aug 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 +41 days
Applied in 2023 or later +36 days
Applications waiting at the same ministry office +11 days
How many decisions the ministry office made in the past six months −10 days
Heavy drilling planned (drills over 150 kilograms) −5 days
Outside the Treaty 9 area −5 days
The applicant’s earlier permits +4 days
Public comments received (count published with the decision) +2 days
Size of the application (6 mining claims) −1 day
Holds placed on nearby applications in the past year −1 day

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 2029Jan 203071%67%73%71%
14 AugFirst forecast4 SepForecast moved25 SepForecast moved30 OctLatest

Showing 4 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 95% 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 94% 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

30 May 202430 Oct 2026
Open for public comment Under review On hold
  1. 30 May 2024 Posted to the registry and opened for public comment
  2. 4 weeks later
  3. 29 Jun 2024 Public comment closed
  4. 8 weeks later
  5. 26 Aug 2024 Put on hold to consult an Indigenous nation
  6. Same day
  7. 26 Aug 2024 Put on hold: a temporary hold
  8. 2.2 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

0.5 km
Where in Ontario

The outlined area is the mining claims the application covers, 124 hectares in all.

What the application asks for

Activities
  • Mechanized drilling (drills over 150 kilograms)
Mining claims covered
6
Area of those claims
124 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
106 applications waiting; it decided 70 in the past six months
Applicant
A junior exploration company
The applicant’s earlier exploration permits
None before this one
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