Fit-for-Purpose Geochemistry and Fewer Bad Programs with Simon Bolster
From GeOCHemISTea by Sam Scher
February 18, 2026 · 1h 16m · Season 5 · Episode 2
About this episode
Simon Bolster discusses the importance of tailored geochemistry in mineral exploration and the pitfalls of generic approaches.
Simon Bolster joins GeOCHemISTea to unpack what actually makes near-surface geochemistry work in mineral exploration: understanding regolith and landforms before you ever “put dirt in bags.” With four decades in gold exploration, Simon argues that many programs fail not because geochemistry is “bad,” but because sampling and analytical choices do not match the terrain,the cover, or the project stage. The conversation moves from regolith terrain assessment andmapping as the real starting point, to why “lowest detection limit” is not a substitute for good planning. Simon also breaks down industry “silver bullets” (MMI, calcrete, ultrafines) and why blanket adoption creates false confidence. Finally, he explains how DetectOre upgrades gold from ppb-scale field chemistry into something actionable and fast, by leaching and concentrating gold onto a collector device that can be read by pXRF, enabling real-time decision-making while rigs are still turning. For this episode we read: Valuing time and how some of the latest technologies arecompressing time to fast track and de-risk new discoveries and mines (Bolster, 2025)
People in this episode
Host: Sam Scher
Guest: Simon Bolster
Topics covered
- geochemistry
- mineral exploration
- regolith assessment
- sampling techniques
- real-time decision-making
Keywords
- geochemistry
- mineral exploration
- sampling
- regolith
- real-time decision-making
- gold exploration
- analytical choices
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Valuing time and how some of the latest technologies are compressing time to fast track and de-risk new discoveries and mines
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- Beyond Bulk Geochemistry: Cobalt, Nanoparticles, and Surface Processes with Owen Missen · March 18, 2026 · 55 min
- From Geomet to the Mill: Breaking Down Silos with Mohsen Yahyaei · January 21, 2026 · 1h 7m
- Volcanoes, Mush, and Mineralization with Mike Stock · December 23, 2025 · 1h 0m
- The mineralogy hidden in your assays with Scott Halley · November 19, 2025 · 1h 1m
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