Kestrel Economics · Bulletin Beta

This week / Ontario exploration permit

026-0321

A junior exploration company proposes mechanized drilling and mechanized stripping on 9 mining claims covering 206 hectares in Galway Township, Peterborough County, about 16 kilometres east of Kinmount and about 34 kilometres northeast of Kawartha Lakes.

On holdwaiting on consultation with an Indigenous nation
224 dayswaiting since it was posted on 20 Mar 2026

When it is likely to be decided

The model puts an 8 in 10 chance on a decision between 5 Nov 2026 and 27 Jun 2027 (our 80% credible interval, shortened elsewhere to the 80% range).

2%
30 Oct 2026Nov 2026Jan 2027Apr 2027Oct 202714 May 2028
Middle half of the chances (50%) 80% range Still waiting at the furthest date (bar height = its share)
2% chance still undecided on 14 May 2028, the furthest date the model looks ahead

The model looks ahead 18 months from the forecast date, to 14 May 2028. 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, 98%, 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
86%
Refused or withdrawn
12%
Still undecided at the furthest date we look ahead
2%

Key dates

  • A 1 in 10 chance it is decided by5 Nov 2026
  • Even odds it is decided by23 Dec 2026
  • A 9 in 10 chance it is decided by27 Jun 2027
  • Chance it is decided within 3 months, by 29 Jan 202765%
  • Chance it is decided within 6 months, by 30 Apr 202786%
  • Already on hold (waiting on consultation with an Indigenous nation) since 15 May 2026On 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
Applied in 2023 or later −26 days
Heavy drilling planned (drills over 150 kilograms) −12 days
The plan includes drilling +11 days
How many decisions the ministry office made in the past six months +6 days
Applications waiting at the same ministry office −3 days
Outside the Treaty 9 area −3 days
Public comments received (count published with the decision) +1 day
The applicant’s earlier permits +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 20281%2%2%1%2%
14 AugFirst forecast28 AugForecast moved11 SepForecast moved25 SepForecast moved9 OctForecast moved23 OctForecast moved30 OctLatest

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 63% 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 64% 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

20 Mar 202630 Oct 2026
Open for public comment Under review On hold
  1. 20 Mar 2026 Posted to the registry and opened for public comment
  2. 4 weeks later
  3. 19 Apr 2026 Public comment closed
  4. 4 weeks later
  5. 15 May 2026 Put on hold to consult an Indigenous nation
  6. 6 months later
  7. 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, 206 hectares in all.

What the application asks for

Activities
  • Mechanized stripping (over 100 square metres within a 200 metre radius)
  • Mechanized drilling (drills over 150 kilograms)
Mining claims covered
9
Area of those claims
206 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
3 applications waiting; it decided 18 in the past six months
Applicant
A junior exploration company
The applicant’s earlier exploration permits
None before this one
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