This week / Ontario exploration permit

026-0367

An individual proposes mechanized drilling, mechanized stripping, pitting and trenching of bedrock, and line cutting on 72 mining claims covering 1,511 hectares in Bonnie Lake Area, Garden Lake Area and Holly Lake Area, Thunder Bay District, about 71 kilometres northeast of English River and about 116 kilometres east of Ignace.

Waiting on a decisionstatus

211 dayswaiting since it was posted on 2 Apr 2026

When it is likely to be decided

The model puts an 8 in 10 chance on a decision between 5 Dec 2026 and the furthest date it looks ahead (our 80% credible interval, shortened elsewhere to the 80% range).

30 Oct 2026Dec 2026Oct 2027Oct 2028Oct 2030

Middle half of the chances (50%) 80% range

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: 63%
Refused or withdrawn: 12%
Still undecided at the furthest date we look ahead: 25%

Key dates

A 1 in 10 chance it is decided by5 Dec 2026
Even odds it is decided by11 Jan 2028
A under 1% chance it is still waiting on10 May 2032
Chance it is decided within 3 months, by 29 Jan 202722%
Chance it is decided within 6 months, by 30 Apr 202739%
Chance it is put on hold before a decision52%

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

Heavy drilling planned (drills over 150 kilograms) −103 days

The plan includes drilling +36 days

How many decisions the ministry office made in the past six months −28 days

Applied in 2023 or later +25 days

Outside the Treaty 9 area −16 days

Size of the application (72 mining claims) −13 days

Holds placed on nearby applications in the past year +6 days

Public comments received (count published with the decision) +6 days

Applications waiting at the same ministry office +1 day

Some factors about how the ministry handles the file are used but not shown here.

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.

2027202820292030203120322033

14 AugFirst forecast21 AugForecast moved28 AugForecast moved11 SepForecast moved25 SepForecast moved16 OctForecast moved30 OctLatest; forecast moved

Showing 7 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 60% 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 65% 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

31 Mar 202630 Oct 2026

Open for public comment Under review

31 Mar 2026 Application submitted to the ministry
2 days later
2 Apr 2026 Posted to the registry and opened for public comment
4 weeks later
2 May 2026 Public comment closed
6 months later
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

5 km

Where in Ontario

The outlined area is the mining claims the application covers, 1,511 hectares in all.

What the application asks for

Activities: Line cutting (wider than 1.5 metres)
Mechanized stripping (over 100 square metres within a 200 metre radius)
Pitting and trenching of bedrock (over 3 cubic metres within a 200 metre radius)
Mechanized drilling (drills over 150 kilograms)
Mining claims covered: 72
Area of those claims: 1,511 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: 2
Workload at the ministry office handling it: 100 applications waiting; it decided 44 in the past six months
Applicant: An individual
The applicant’s earlier exploration permits: 1