Our People
Jon Hronsky, OAM (BAppSci, PhD)
- 40+ years in mineral exploration
- A WMS principal since 2007 where his consulting focus has been on project generation, technical innovation and exploration strategy development
- Awarded the Order of Australia Medal (2019) for services to the mining industry
- Received the SEG Silver Medal (2023) for "excellence in original work in the geology of mineral deposits”
Steve Bussey (BA, M.Sc, PhD)
- 40+ years in mineral exploration
- A distinguished field geologist, and a WMS principal since 2007
- Steve’s mineral exploration expertise is broad and includes building structured GIS datasets for project evaluation and spatial data modeling for new target definition and management of exploration programs and projects.
Jeff Welborn (BA, JD)
- 50+ years in the mineral exploration industry
- Lawyer in private mineral industry practice (25 years) followed by senior management roles in WMC Resources Ltd (9 years)
- Co-founded WMS (2005)
- Advises and trains in exploration strategy development, deal analysis and negotiation, management of license to operate and country risk analysis
Exploration Management Training
Upcoming Senior Exploration Management Courses
Denver: 1-4 December 2026, SEG Headquarters
Perth: 23-26 February 2027, St Catherine's on Park
What we do
[Please contact Jeff Welborn with specific questions: jeff.welborn@wesminllc.com]
- Mineral Exploration Training at the Management Level
- Metallogenic Studies and Regional Targeting
- Exploration Strategy Development, Communication and Implementation
We work with mineral exploration and mining companies of all sizes: Tier 1, Tier 2 and Junior, and we are prepared to assist clients with their exploration programs anywhere in the world.
In our Senior Exploration Management (SEM) Courses, we cover the principles and practices of effective exploration management with emphasis on key exploration concepts, strategy development, and deal-making.
- These courses are ideal for those in senior exploration management positions and for those who aspire to positions of senior responsibility in the mineral exploration industry.
- The SEM Course is also excellent for all who interact with or support exploration managers.
- We use a lecture format, but participants also engage in interactive thinking and problem solving by working in teams to design solutions to exploration management challenges and present their results to the larger group.
Our training scope
Our exploration management level training covers these topics:
- Mineral exploration at the strategic scale – the roles of greenfield and brownfield exploration in development and implementation of corporate operating and growth strategies
- Designing and managing exploration programs and portfolios
- The importance of group structure, program design, process discipline and effective people management in achieving exploration group objective
- Opportunity generation including the exploration search space concept, targeting science, the application of targeting models and new opportunity due diligence
- Development of commercial terms for mineral exploration transactions and negotiating deals
- Strategic risk evaluation and management in order to develop and maintain the necessary licenses to operate exploration projects in varied risk environments
We offer in-house training for individual clients tailored to their individual needs, and we teach open enrollment courses that are publicly available in Denver and Perth.
Contact Us
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Western Mining Services
Contact Jeff Welborn directly with questions +1.3038848325 jeff.welborn@wesminllc.com
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