Ontario has designated Kinross’ Great Bear Project for accelerated permitting under its “One Project, One Process” framework, with the province saying government review times will be reduced by 50% for the Red Lake district gold development.
Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce said the framework is intended to provide “certainty to investors and predictability to the market,” arguing Ontario can speed up permitting while maintaining rule-of-law conditions attractive to large-scale mine builders.
Great Bear becomes the third project selected by Ontario for the framework and the first gold development to enter the program, following Frontier Lithium’s selection as the initial recipient when the framework launched in October and Ontario’s announced backing for Canada Nickel’s Crawford project last month.
The project is located in Ontario’s Red Lake mining district, described locally as roughly 24 kilometres southeast of Red Lake, and is planned as a combination open-pit and underground mine.
Kinross acquired Great Bear as an early-stage project through its purchase of Great Bear Resources in 2022, completed before any mineral resource estimates had been finished.
The project has an initial mine life of 12 years, with expected production of more than 500,000 ounces of gold annually for the first eight years, based on company disclosures cited from 2024. Local reporting also characterizes the project as capable of producing more than 5 million ounces of gold over a 12-year period.
On schedule, Ontario’s statement said major construction is expected to begin in 2027, with production planned for 2029.
However, consultation remains a live issue around the framework. North Spirit Lake Chief Brandon Rae previously criticized streamlining as pushing First Nations aside, while Ontario countered that the framework is meant to be more coordinated and transparent for Indigenous consultation and to encourage participation through employment, training, and partnerships.
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