Fresh Thinking by Snowden Optiro

In this episode of Snowden Optiro's Fresh Thinking podcast, Julian Aldridge, Regional Director – EMEAA, is joined by Melanie Bulley, Senior Consultant, and Laurie Hassall, Principal Consultant, for the first discussion in a two-part series on tungsten. The discussion examines tungsten from a market and supply chain perspective, with particular attention to the recent rise in APT prices and the fac...

Inferred Mineral Resources are the lowest-confidence Mineral Resource category, but what role should they play in mine planning? In this episode of Fresh Thinking, Tarrant Elkington is joined by Allan Earl, Executive Consultant at Snowden Optiro, to discuss the practical and regulatory considerations around including Inferred Resources in mine plans. Tarrant and Allan explore the distinction betwe...

When does ordinary kriging stop being the best approach for grade control? In this episode of Fresh Thinking, Ian Glacken, Executive Consultant, and Dr Gregory Zhang, Senior Consultant at   @SnowdenOptiro  , explore direct SMU estimation and the circumstances where conventional ordinary kriging may not provide the best result. They discuss the challenges presented by highly skewed grade distributi...

Changing workplace exposure limits could become an important driver of battery electric vehicle adoption in underground mining. In this episode of Fresh Thinking by  ‪@SnowdenOptiro‬ , Hamish Guthrie is joined by Sarah de Vries to discuss Sarah's recent presentation at The Electric Mine Conference 2026, "Evolving Air Quality Regulations: A Catalyst for Electric Machine Adoption." Sarah explores th...

Platinum is one of the world's rarest and most geographically concentrated metals, with applications spanning the automotive, industrial, jewellery and emerging hydrogen sectors. But what does its evolving supply and demand outlook mean for the mining industry? In this episode of Fresh Thinking by Snowden Optiro , Senzeni Mandava Matondi and Julian Aldridge explore platinum's geology, market dynam...

Was the sample representative? Every geological model, resource estimate, grade control decision and reconciliation result ultimately depends on the quality of the samples behind it. In this episode of Fresh Thinking by Snowden Optiro, Melanie Bulley is joined by Senzeni Mandava Matondi to explore the Theory of Sampling and why representative sampling is fundamental to reliable decision-making thr...

Tailings Mineral Resource Estimates can appear straightforward. The material has already been mined, crushed, processed and deposited in one location — but tailings facilities present their own unique set of technical challenges. In this episode of Fresh Thinking by  @SnowdenOptiro  , Senzeni Mandava and Melanie Bulley explore the nuances of estimating Mineral Resources within tailings facilities....

In Part 2 of our Fresh Thinking by  @SnowdenOptiro  two-part series, host Melanie Bully is joined by Senzeni Matondi to continue the discussion on why the most expensive mistake in grade control isn't necessarily mining low-grade material — it's making the wrong decision about whether material is ore or waste. Following on from Part 1, this episode explores how mining operations can make better gr...

In this episode of Fresh Thinking by Snowden Optiro, Rayleen Hargreaves, Principal Consultant at Datamine and Product Owner of Reconcilor, talks with Ian Glacken, Executive Consultant at Snowden Optiro, about the importance of reconciling mineral resources and reserves across the mine value chain. Resource and reserve reconciliation is often given less attention than the production stages of the m...

What if the most expensive mistake in grade control isn't mining low-grade material — but making the wrong decision about what is ore and what is waste? In this two-part episode of Fresh Thinking by Snowden Optiro, Senzeni Matondi, Principal Consultant, joins Melanie Bully, Senior Consultant, to explore why grade control is fundamentally a decision-making discipline, not simply a grade estimation...

If your resource model is statistically robust, why doesn't it always reconcile with production? In this episode of Fresh Thinking by Snowden Optiro, Melanie Bulley and Senzeni Mandava Matondi explore why good resource estimates can still lead to disappointing reconciliation results. They discuss the impact of grade smoothing, explain the concept of conditional bias, and explore why reproducing th...

How do you model mineralisation when geological boundaries aren't clearly defined? In this episode of Fresh Thinking by   @SnowdenOptiro  , Senior Consultant, Melanie Bulley is joined by Principal Consultant, Senzeni Matondi to explore how Categorical Indicator Kriging (CIK) can be used to model diffuse mineralisation more objectively and consistently. The discussion covers: Why traditional wirefr...

What do consultants see that mine sites often miss? In this episode of Fresh Thinking bySnowden Optiro, Rayleen Hargreaves is joined by Ian Glacken to discuss the most common mine-to-mill reconciliation challenges, from stockpile management and siloed teams to understanding variance and improving decision-making. Learn why reconciliation is more than a monthly report—it's a powerful tool for impro...

Which commodities matter most in the global race for critical and strategic minerals? In this episode of   @SnowdenOptiro  Fresh Thinking podcast, Senzeni Mandava Matondi is joined by Julian Aldridge and Laurie Hassall to explore the commodities that consistently appear on critical minerals lists around the world and the factors driving their importance. The discussion examines key battery mineral...

What makes a mineral critical? What makes it strategic? And why are governments around the world racing to secure supplies of certain commodities? In this episode of Fresh Thinking by Snowden Optiro , Senzeni Mandava Matondi, Julian Aldridge, and Laurie Hassell explore the growing importance of critical and strategic minerals in today's economy. From copper, lithium and rare earth elements to gall...

Will AI replace geologists? In this episode of Fresh Thinking by  @SnowdenOptiro  , we explore how artificial intelligence is being used across the mining industry, from exploration targeting and core logging to resource estimation and technical reporting. Our team discusses the opportunities AI presents, its current limitations, and why geological expertise, judgement and accountability remain cr...

What are the key differences between private mining companies and publicly listed mining companies when it comes to project development, risk, and reporting? In this episode of ‪@SnowdenOptiro‬ 's Fresh Thinking podcast, Senior Consultant, Laurie Hassall speaks with Managing Consultant, Julian Aldridge, about how private companies approach mining project economics compared with companies reporting...

In this episode of Fresh Thinking by Snowden Optiro, Ian Glacken and Susan Havlin explore localised conditional simulation (LCS) and its role in modern resource estimation workflows. Building on earlier discussions around estimation methods, recoverable resources, and conditional simulation, this episode brings everything together to explain how LCS converts multiple simulation realisations into a...

In this episode of Fresh Thinking by ‪@SnowdenOptiro‬ , Susan Havlin and Ian Glacken explore the fundamentals of conditional simulation and its role in modelling grade variability and uncertainty in mineral resource estimation. They discuss how simulation differs from traditional methods like kriging and uniform conditioning, why capturing uncertainty is critical for modern mining decisions, and h...

In this episode of Fresh Thinking by @SnowdenOptiro, Susan Havlin speaks with Tarrant Elkington about the mine planning implications of simulation. The conversation explores: Why resource models are fundamental to mine planning and project evaluation The impact of grade variability and smoothing on mine planning outcomes How LCS compares with conventional estimation methods such as Ordinary Krigin...

In this episode of Fresh Thinking by ‪@SnowdenOptiro‬ , Susan Havlin and Ian Glacken discuss uncertainty in mineral resource estimation and how Localised Conditional Simulation (LCS) provides a more practical framework for analysing geological risk and variability. The conversation explores: Conditional simulation and uncertainty Resource classification Simulation versus kriging Risk-qualified min...

In this episode of Fresh Thinking by Snowden Optiro, Ian Glacken and Rayleen Hargreaves discuss their conference paper, "Enhancing Underground Mine Reconciliation: A Unified F and R Series Framework," co-authored with Tarrant Elkington and Arja Jewbali and presented at the AusIMM International Mining Geology Conference 2026 in Brisbane in April. The conversation explores the challenges of applying...

In the final episode of our 7-part series on recoverable resources and localised conditional simulation (LCS), Susan Havlin from ‪@SnowdenOptiro‬ is joined by Bruce Kendall, Technical Advisor at Minerals 260, to discuss the application of LCS at the Bullabulling Gold Project in Western Australia. The episode explores: Why Minerals 260 moved beyond traditional ordinary kriging methods How LCS was u...

In this episode of Snowden Optiro's Fresh Thinking Podcast, Hamish Guthrie speaks with Principal Geotechnical Engineer Ezilma Dias about the role of geotechnical core logging in mine design, ground stability and risk management. Learn why quality core logging is fundamental to understanding rock mass behaviour and making informed engineering decisions in both open pit and underground mining operat...

In this episode of Fresh Thinking by  @SnowdenOptiro  , we explore recoverable resource methods and how they help bridge the gap between resource models and what is actually mined. We discuss key approaches used across the industry, including Uniform Conditioning (UC) and Multiple Indicator Kriging (MIK), outlining how they address grade smoothing and improve predictions at the mining scale. We al...