Kestrel Economics · Bulletin Beta

This week / Ontario exploration permit

026-1103

A junior exploration company proposes mechanized drilling on 175 mining claims covering 3,446 hectares in Kenora District, about 63 kilometres south of Kingfisher Lake and about 68 kilometres southwest of Wunnummin Lake.

Open for public commentstatus
8 dayswaiting since it was posted on 22 Oct 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
84%
Refused or withdrawn
4%
Still undecided at the furthest date we look ahead
12%

Key dates

  • A 1 in 10 chance it is decided by5 Dec 2026
  • Even odds it is decided by8 Feb 2027
  • A under 1% chance it is still waiting on29 Nov 2032
  • Chance it is decided within 3 months, by 29 Jan 202747%
  • Chance it is decided within 6 months, by 30 Apr 202765%
  • Chance it is put on hold before a decision30%

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) −26 days
The plan includes drilling +14 days
How many decisions the ministry office made in the past six months −11 days
Applied in 2023 or later +8 days
Size of the application (175 mining claims) −4 days
Outside the Treaty 9 area −4 days
Holds placed on nearby applications in the past year +2 days
Public comments received (comment period open until 21 Nov 2026) +2 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.

202720282029203020312032
23 OctFirst forecast30 OctLatest

Showing all 2 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

22 Oct 202630 Oct 2026
Open for public comment Under review
  1. 22 Oct 2026 Posted to the registry and opened for public comment
  2. 8 days later
  3. 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, 3,446 hectares in all.

What the application asks for

Activities
  • Mechanized drilling (drills over 150 kilograms)
Mining claims covered
175
Area of those claims
3,446 hectares

Surroundings

Holds within 50 kilometres in the past year
none held for consultation with an Indigenous nation; 1 application put on a temporary hold
Other exploration plans in circulation within 50 kilometres
1
Workload at the ministry office handling it
118 applications waiting; it decided 53 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