Coffee with Samso - Insights: Critical Metals - The Real Meaning and Path Australia should play in the Clean Energy Revolution.
Release Date: 10/06/2024
The Copper Is Hiding in the Minerals, Not the Assays — CSIRO's Tobias Schlegel on IOCG Vectoring
Coffee with Samso
Coffee with Samso — with Dr Tobias Schlegel, Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO We're back at Samso HQ at the University Club, on the UWA campus in Crawley, and this is a conversation that has been a few years in the making. I first came across Tobias Schlegel at an IOCG workshop in Adelaide. He was up the front talking about how these deposits actually form, and I remember thinking, I need to talk to that guy. It has taken two or three years, but here we are. Tobias is a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO, where he has spent close to seven years, and he has been working on Iron Oxide Copper...
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The Discovery of the Challenger Gold Mine – Gawler Craton, South Australia
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There are discoveries that change a region's prospectivity forever. The Challenger Gold Mine in the Gawler Craton is one of them. In this episode of Coffee with Samso, I sat down with David Edgecombe, the geologist who was instrumental in the discovery of the Challenger Gold Deposit in outback South Australia. David is not simply a man who happened to drill a good hole. He is a geologist's geologist — one who understood the rocks, trusted the science, and applied a methodology that was, at the time, genuinely groundbreaking in this part of the world. At 1.2 million ounces of gold,...
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The Discovery of the Paris Silver Deposit
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Coffee with Samso – John Anderson and the Thinking Behind the Paris Silver Discovery There are mining discoveries, and then there are stories about why discoveries happen. The difference matters. In this episode of Coffee with Samso, I sat down with John Anderson, the geologist most closely associated with the discovery of the Paris Silver Deposit on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. John is not just another explorer who drilled a successful hole. He represents a generation of geologists who built discoveries through persistence, pattern recognition, and the willingness to...
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Echo IQ Limited – AI Diagnostics, Mayo Clinic & Hypergrowth
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Coffee with Samso – Echo IQ Limited: AI Diagnostics, Mayo Clinic & the Path to a Cardiovascular Platform A much awaited Coffee with Samso conversation with Dustin Haines from Echo IQ Limited (ASX: EIQ)is all about a clear investment narrative: this is not just an AI story, but a proven data-driven healthcare business building a scalable diagnostic platform anchored in real clinical need. The main business for Echo IQ is in the cardiovascular diagnostics space, using artificial intelligence to analyse echocardiograms and assist physicians in identifying complex conditions such as...
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Coffee with Samso – Iron Bear Resources Limited (ASX: IBR) – A Magnetite Story Positioned for Steel Decarbonisation
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A Magnetite Iron Ore Project Sitting Where the Market Is Going - Steel Decarbonisation In this episode of Coffee with Samso, we are having a conversation with Iron Bear Resources Limited again since May 2025. The business has progressed and we are now anticipating the release of the Pre Feasibility Study which will be the platform that begins the studies towards a Decision To Mine. As a shareholder of the company, these are exciting times as the path forward is all about creating the building blocks that will shape the valuation of the business. Currently at AUD $50M, this has got to be...
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OD6 Metals (ASX: OD6) – Quinn Fluorspar Project Nevada: US Critical Minerals Opportunity Explained
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In this episode of Coffee with Samso, Noel Ong sits down with OD6 Metals Limited Managing Director Brett Hazelden and Chief Technical Officer Dr. Darren Holden to unpack the company’s acquisition of the Quinn Fluorspar Project in Nevada, USA. The discussion centres on why OD6 has expanded beyond its rare earths and copper portfolio into fluorite (fluorspar), a critical mineral increasingly tied to global supply chain security. The project aligns with the United States’ push to secure domestic sources of key industrial inputs, particularly given its current reliance on imports and...
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Kaiser Reef Limited (ASX: KAU) – Henty Gold Mine Acquisition Driving Cash Flow and Growth
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Coffee with Samso - Episode 220 | Kaiser Reef Limited (ASX: KAU) | The University Club | Crawley | Western Australia There are moments in the ASX mining space where a transaction changes everything for a company. This Coffee with Samso conversation with Brad Valiukas from Kaiser Reef Limited is one of those moments. Filmed back at Samso HQ at the University of Western Australia, this discussion centres on what I described as an “overnight producer” story—driven by the acquisition of the Henty Gold Mine. And in many ways, that label fits. The “Overnight Producer” – What...
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Tusker Minerals (ASX: TSK) – Building a Rutile Discovery Story in Cameroon & Malawi | Coffee with Samso
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Coffee with Samso - Episode 221 | Tusker Minerals Limited (ASX: TSK) | Capetown - South Africa | Perth - Western Australia There are times when you revisit a story and it just feels different. This Coffee with Samso with Tusker Minerals Limited and CEO Cliff Fitzhenry is one of those moments. The last time we spoke in 2025, the narrative was still forming. This time around, you can see where things are heading. The conversation is not about ideas anymore. It’s about execution. It sis about the Tusker Minerals Rutile story. The Rutile Story Has Moved – And It’s Now About Scale What stood...
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Investigator Silver Limited (ASX: IVR) – Paris Silver Project Set to Ride the Silver Bull Market
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Coffee with Samso - Episode 218 | Investigator Silver (ASX: IVR) – Understanding the Leverage to Silver Through the Paris Project | Adelaide Markets | Adelaide | South Australia In this episode of Coffee with Samso, I had the opportunity to sit down with Lachlan Wallace, Managing Director of Investigator Silver Limited, to discuss what I would call a very timely story in the current commodities cycle. Silver has always been one of those metals that sits quietly in the background—until it doesn’t. When it moves, it tends to move quickly, and often, the market is not fully prepared...
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Coffee with Samso: Rosewood Titanium Discovery Could Be a Major South Australian Project
Coffee with Samso
In this episode of Coffee with Samso, Noel Ong sits down with the team from PTR Minerals Limited to discuss the discovery of the Rosewood Titanium Deposit in South Australia. This is a fascinating conversation with a team that carries strong exploration credentials, including members linked to the discovery of Prominent Hill. The discussion covers how PTR Minerals moved from its Petrotherm origins into minerals exploration, how the Rosewood discovery was made through field mapping and reinterpretation of historical data, and why this shallow high-grade titanium project may become a significant...
info_outlineCoffee with Samso Episode 199 is all about the meaning of Critical Minerals for Australia. Are we spending the right amount of money?
The low-emission world loves these two words and in resource-rich Australia where we are world leaders in supplying the feedstock for the world, are we sheep or should we start to be smarter with our fund allocation? Should we play our own game and be one controlling the weather and be smart with our resources?
Should we be asking, are all metals critical and who are the beneficiaries of the critical nature of these metals? Should Australia be a more important part of the future Clean Energy Revolution?
In today's episode, we talk to a man who gives us thoughts to ponder and maybe actions to take. Are all metals critical and what does critical mean? Should we look at the real meaning and outcome of the term Critical Metals?
Tim Craske is here because I read his abstract for the recent AUSIMM Conference on Critical Minerals.
Australia’s list of critical minerals all occur in abundance. As a nation of suppliers of raw materials, are these metals critical at all for Australians?
Or are they just critical for the commodity markets that we deliver into?
As we have seen recently with external pressures on commodity prices, lithium and nickel can be critical EV battery components yet be subject to more cyclical price volatility than major metals.
This makes Australian scoping and feasibility studies fragile, and investors nervous.
According to Tim, by taking a complex-systems thinking approach to modelling these new resources, we can have better outcomes. However, a systems-thinking approach will only be truly transformational if we develop downstream processing and manufacturing industries here in Australia.
This is described by CSIRO as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to reinvigorate our manufacturing and technology sectors.
Get yourself a coffee or your favourite beverage and watch or listen and see if Tim Craske makes any sense:
Chapters:
00:00 Start.
04:00 Introduction.
04:46 All about Tim Craske.
07:11 Did Western Mining influence your thinking today ?
09:38 What does Critical Metals mean to Tim Craske?
10:39 Australia List of Critical Metals is too long.
11:54 The problem with the Critical Metals List - Everything is not Critical.
12:27 The One and Only Critical Metal - Copper.
13:09 Is Coal a Critical Metal?
13:42 The UK Coking Coal Public Impression.
15:07 The Disconnect of the Carbon Footprint Discussion.
16:07 Changing Lithium Story.
16:42 Why Australia should recreate the Iluka Anomaly
17:10 Understanding the Long Term Marginal Lithium Market
18:55 Should Australia adopt an Indonesian model of investing a Downstream Process.
20:59 What is Australia willing to do to compete?
21:27 Do you think the recent discussion of banning "Dirty" nickel could happen?
22:40 An Example Why Banning "Dirty" Nickel will not work.
24:30 What should Australia be focusing on?
26:11 Understanding the China - Chinese Competitive Business Strategy.
27:24 Why does ASEAN embrace China and the West have an Anti-Chinese Perception?
29:48 Is there a colonisation concept being played out in the Critical Metals Story?
31:08 Where should Australia focus on with Critical Metals?
33:37 Mining of Copper is not that Green.
34:27 Nett Zero Emission.
35:30 Is Zero Emission a Fantasy.
36:48 The Indonesian Nickel Business
38:00 What would Nuclear Power do for the Australian Mining Industry.
38:35 Should Australia chase Tier 1 projects for sustainability of the industry?
40:53 The Power of Tier 1 deposits.
41:57 The Need for Governments to be more Understanding on Process of Mining.
42:35 Can Small Explorers explore for Tier 1 Deposits?
44:02 The lack of New Mines.
45:34 Raising money from the market to Test Geological Concepts is hard.
47:06 Can Australia develop a Downstream Resource Industry.
51:05 Difficulties of the REE Industry.
51:53 What could Spark a Mineral Exploration Bull run.
54:26 China needs the Critical Metals more than anyone else.
55:09 Understanding The Chinese Thinking.
55:40 The Government Loan is a Red Hearing.
56:30 The Dangers for the Mining Industry in regards to the way we treat Critical Metals.
57:12 Tim Last Words.
59:22 What Weather will do to Solar and Wind Farms.
59:54 The Nuclear Solution.
1:00:33 Conclusion.
About Tim Craske
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Tim Craske is a skilled and successful mineral explorer and mentor with over 40 years’ experience in project generation, exploration management and technical innovation gained in Australia, North and South America, Asia and East Africa.
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He spent his first 20 years with WMC Resources during which he discovered the Ernest Henry and E1 iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits in the Cloncurry district, northwest Queensland. He was also involved in the targeting of the West Musgraves province for copper and nickel pegging the core licences on which all the deposits (Nebo, Babel and Succoth) have been found.
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Since leaving WMC Tim has worked in both the junior and major company sectors including Exploration Manager for Sirius Resources up to the establishing of Nova as a prime prospect
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General Manager Exploration Consulting at Vale and Exploration Manager - New Commodities at Iluka Resources.
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Tim Craske is Managing Director and Chief Facilitator for Thinker.Events and also a director of Thinkercafé.org that specialises in developing innovative thinkers, thinking organisations, and disruptive technology solutions for industry, education and government sectors.