Kestrel Economics · Bulletin Beta

This week / Ontario exploration permit

026-0925

A mid-sized mining company proposes mechanized drilling on 79 mining claims covering 1,656 hectares in Kenora District, about 10 kilometres north of Gold Rock and about 29 kilometres south of Dryden.

Waiting on a decisionstatus
56 dayswaiting since it was posted on 4 Sep 2026

When it is likely to be decided

The model puts an 8 in 10 chance on a decision between 1 Nov 2026 and 20 Jul 2031 (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
87%
Refused or withdrawn
5%
Still undecided at the furthest date we look ahead
8%

Key dates

  • A 1 in 10 chance it is decided by1 Nov 2026
  • Even odds it is decided by9 Jan 2027
  • A 9 in 10 chance it is decided by20 Jul 2031
  • Chance it is decided within 3 months, by 29 Jan 202757%
  • Chance it is decided within 6 months, by 30 Apr 202769%
  • Chance it is put on hold before a decision24%

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) −24 days
The plan includes drilling +13 days
How many decisions the ministry office made in the past six months −8 days
Applied in 2023 or later +6 days
Outside the Treaty 9 area −3 days
Size of the application (79 mining claims) −2 days
Public comments received (count published with the decision) +1 day
Applications waiting at the same ministry office +1 day
Holds placed on nearby applications in the past year +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.

20272028202920302031
2 OctFirst forecast9 OctPublic comment closed23 OctForecast moved30 OctLatest; forecast moved

Showing 4 of 5 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

None of the questions we have asked about this application has been settled yet. The first to settle is whether it is decided by 29 Jan 2027.

The application so far

4 Sep 202630 Oct 2026
Open for public comment Under review
  1. 4 Sep 2026 Posted to the registry and opened for public comment
  2. 4 weeks later
  3. 4 Oct 2026 Public comment closed
  4. 4 weeks later
  5. 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, 1,657 hectares in all.

What the application asks for

Activities
  • Mechanized drilling (drills over 150 kilograms)
Mining claims covered
79
Area of those claims
1,656 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
3
Workload at the ministry office handling it
113 applications waiting; it decided 49 in the past six months
Applicant
A mid-sized mining company
The applicant’s earlier exploration permits
None before this one
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