Coffee with Samso: Carbonatites, Niobium, and the Birth of a New Province – A Conversation with Jon Hronsky.
- Noel Ong
- Sep 14
- 6 min read
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.
Key Highlights
A Career in Discovery
Jon Hronsky is entering his fifth decade in mineral exploration, with a long history of working across major greenfields campaigns.
He is a director at Encounter Resources and previously with Western Mining Corporation, where he was mentored by Roy Woodall.
Discovery of West Arunta - Carbonatite Province.
Encounter pegged a strong magnetic anomaly in remote WA, now known as the Hoschke Prospect, with initial IOCG targeting.
Drilling in 2019 revealed complex magnetite alteration and ultimately a carbonatite with 16m @ 1% Nb₂O₅.
What began as an IOCG hunt became a game-changing niobium-carbonatite discovery, drawing analogies with Palabora and Olympic Dam.
Mineral System Thinking
Jon challenges rigid classifications like IOCG vs carbonatite, advocating for a spectrum-based approach to targeting.
Shared features across IOCG and carbonatites: deep mantle-tapping structures, lamprophyres, and metasomatic fluids.
Gravity vs Magnetics
While gravity anomalies aided other discoveries (e.g., Luni), the Westrunter carbonatites lack strong gravity signatures due to weathering offsets.
Emphasis is placed on magnetic data and structural interpretation as primary exploration tools in the region.
Targeting with Data
Exploration guided by WA’s exceptional pre-competitive datasets (GSWA, GA).
Shallow cover (<50m in many places) enables low-cost aircore drilling, accelerating discovery.
Encounter also incorporates EM, passive seismic, and gravity for 3D understanding of mineralisation.
Metallurgy and Development
Encounter believes its discoveries could support a standalone niobium operation.
Metallurgical testwork is ongoing — John notes that niobium is far less complicated to process than rare earths.
Early-stage studies suggest the project is economically viable “on the back of the envelope.”
Conceptual Learnings
Jon highlights the concept of IOCGs without the iron — disseminated copper without the typical magnetic/gravity signature.
Explains the significance of multi-scale thinking, where the key is understanding regional and global context for every local anomaly.
Building a Province
Carbonatite event dated to ~800 Ma, with potential reactivation of 1590 Ma Olympic Dam-aged structures.
Big structures show repeated pulsing through time, allowing multiple mineralisation events.
The Greenfields Challenge
Funding remains a structural issue — greenfields needs long-term, risk-tolerant capital.
Small caps struggle to sustain non-revenue-generating exploration without external support or JV backing.
Advice to Young Geologists
John’s #1 advice: develop the cognitive skill of scale integration — link deposit, district, regional, and global frameworks.
Always ask: “What is the context?” Expand the search space. Use regional data to make better local decisions.
Next Steps
Continue metallurgical studies and mineralogical definition across the West Arunta belt.
Target additional carbonatite-hosted systems along the identified structural corridor.
Drill conceptual copper targets associated with 1590 Ma geochronology and surface anomalies.
Advance regional exploration using passive seismic and detailed gravity.
Chapters
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 gets 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 thoughts 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.
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. What is the significance of Carbonatites?
Generally, carbonatites are rare, and globally there are only a few hundred known occurrences, typically small bodies (plugs, dikes, breccia pipes) associated with alkaline complexes. Despite their rarity, they are incredibly economically significant as many of the world’s richest REE and niobium deposits, plus phosphate (P), and sometimes Fe–Cu, come from carbonatites (e.g., Bayan Obo, Mountain Pass, Araxá/Catalão, Palabora).
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.
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