Coffee with Samso | Episode 209 | UWA Club, Crawley, Western Australia

In this latest episode of Coffee with Samso, I reconnect with exploration legend Jon Hronsky to unpack one of the most significant emerging geological stories in Australia: the Westrunter carbonatite province. This conversation builds on John's recent presentation at the AIG’s event and dives deep into how Encounter Resources Limited (ASX: ENR) has methodically uncovered what may become a globally significant carbonatite-hosted niobium and rare earth element (REE) district in remote Western Australia.

From big structures and conceptual targeting to nuanced mineral system thinking, this discussion is a masterclass in modern greenfields exploration. It reminds us that true discovery lies in resisting the urge to pigeonhole — and embracing complexity.

 

Samso Concluding Comments

In the world of mineral exploration, for me, few conversations are more engaging in terms of explaining the complexities of mineral exploration than that with Jon Hronsky. This episode is about the conversation of Western Australia standing at the edge of a new global province — and it’s not lithium, gold, or copper. It’s carbonatites, niobium, and rare earths.

This story is what I call the power of staying open-minded in geology. You go in searching for an IOCG and come out with a Carbonatite. You chase magnetics but find your answer in subtle alteration. You expect Olympic Dam–style signatures but discover something without the iron. I have had so many conversations on what real mineral exploration looks like — messy, adaptive, and powered by deep systems thinking.

The significance of West Arunta is not just what Encounter Resources has drilled — it’s the framework they’re exposing and building. Encounter is opening the door to a scale of mineral endowment that few in the market are fully appreciating yet.

As Jon notes, greenfields isn’t about hope — it’s about managing a portfolio with creative concepts, disciplined testing, and repeatable targeting. This province — if it matures — could become the next big thing not just in WA, but globally.

 

00:00  Start.

00:10  Introduction.

01:03  Introducing Jon Hronsky.

01:12  Jon Introduction.

02:30  Mineral System Approach and Discovering the West Arunta Carbonatite Province.

03:19  Jon's view of Mineral Systems - The similarity of geological relationships.

04:14  Reason why Encounter get involved in the West Arunta region.

05:29  The IOCG Connection - The Beginning.

06:34  The Roy Woodall Concept of tenement consolidation.

07:02  The remoteness of the West Arunta Project.

07:40  The Discovery hole.

08:49  The Geophysical Conundrum - Carbonatite Signatures for Encounter Resources.

10:19  The Hybrid Conversation of Mineral Mineralisation - IOCG without the Iron.

12:46  Jon's Concept of Search Space.

14:45  The fundamentals of the West Arunta Province for Large Scale Mineralisation.

18:17  Funding the Reality of taking Discovery to Mining.

19:58  Any learnings from the discovery techniques by WA1 Resources?

21:44  The Competitive advantage of Free Government Datasets.

23:21  Current project acquisition from free data.

24:08  Chemistry of Kimberlites and Lamprophyres could be a clue to future discoveries?

26:01  Are there any thinking in the past that could help modern mineral exploration?

27:49  Is there a place left for Field Mapping?

28:39  Are the learnings of modern exploration being taught to younger geologists?

29:54  AI Targeting.

30:56  Risk reward ratio for Greenfield Exploration

32:29  The difference in Greenfield and Near-Mine Exploration.

33:43  The challenges to provide capital and skillset to do proper mineral exploration.

34:45  What advice would you give to the incoming young geologists today?

36:43 Conclusion.