There are many uses for a runway. Whether it’s for a plane to take off, a fashion model to strut, or even for a business to determine how long it can survive financially.
For the resources sector, however, all explorers and investors need is to check out the RIU Sydney Resources Round-Up.
“The floor space where the exhibitors are based — it’s virtually a large runway,” RIU Conferences General Manager Jaxon Crabb tells Mining.com.au right before the event kicks off this year.
Held at the Hyatt Regency Sydney and kicking off tomorrow (5 May) for a three-day program, RIU Sydney is expected to bring in between 1,500 and 1,700 delegates, including a 70% ratio of investors and more than 100 ASX-listed companies.
Crabb explains the layout of the Sydney event is more accessible and easier to navigate, with all exhibitors located together.
“You can go in there and there’s like 95 booths in that one room,” Crabb explains.
“Other conferences like ours, like the RIU Explorers Conference, have different pods, and so you can get a little bit lost in the exhibition area.
“At RIU Sydney, you can take your time — such easy access. You can just get into the flow and feel comfortable, because you know, it’s not going to be such a dramatic moment in your life of turning up to the RIU Sydney Resources Round-Up.”
The hotel with everything
While exhibitors will spend a large portion of their days reeling in investors and existing shareholders in the large, crowded room, simultaneously attendees can check out 30-odd company presentations each day.
From around 8.30am AEST each day, exploration companies will take the stage to present projects, ideas, and timelines to diversified investing groups.
“You don’t need to sit in the auditorium for every single company, but it’s a nice opportunity to really hear the passion and the enthusiasm from each of the different presenters that get up on the stage,” Crabb mentions.
“There’ll be investment groups coming out from the UK, from the US, and RIU, particularly in the last couple of years, has leveraged off the fact that Sydney is probably the best-known city for overseas travellers and outside of Australia.”
With a large number of investment groups travelling over for the event, RIU Sydney offers meeting rooms for these groups to conduct business while at the conference.
RIU Sydney offers 12 individual offices at the back of the conference.
“RIU has purposely tried to promote the one-to-one meetings in Sydney, to promote the conference to investment groups from an international base because it has the two-fold effect,” Crabb tells this news service.
“They get to fly out to possibly one of the greatest cities in the world and experience, you know, the wonderful attractions that Sydney has for an international traveller, but also get some genuine business.
“And the fact that there’s over 100 ASX-listed resources companies at the show for three days, it really justifies the expense for coming to this conference.
“The other great benefit, and one of the main reasons that we started this initiative at RIU Sydney four years ago, was to bring the big investment banks and stockbroking firms that are Sydney-based away from the CBD and then to the hotel — and then that way no one’s leaving our conference.”
Crabb explains that prior to introducing this initiative to RIU Sydney, the conference would often see companies heading away from the event to meet with stockbrokers.
“We’re bringing the investment community to the conference and giving them a nice, safe, secure, and private setting that they would have at their own offices, but now they’re all occurring at our conference,” he says.
The three-day conference will feature ASX-listed explorers, including Black Canyon (ASX:BCA), Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT), Kalamazoo Resources (ASX:KZR), Lincoln Minerals (ASX:LML), and Mammoth Minerals (ASX:M79).
Commodities in focus
Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are likely to shape conversations at the conference, given its effects on the mining industry.
While many commodities are expected to continue to bloom in price due to exporting restrictions, Crabb explains that the accessibility of diesel is likely to affect many explorers.
“The number one theme is going to be the Middle East,” Crabb tells this news service.
“Diesel is such an essential commodity, not just [for] the mining industry, but also the explorers because their drillers will need it and their service providers will need it.
“You know, most exploration projects these days are reasonably remote, so you’re going to need the diesel to access the project area.
“Hopefully this won’t happen, but if governments need to prioritise diesel, then the discussion will be like, where does the exploration industry fit for a government when it comes to prioritising? In Western Australia, we have a supportive state government with Premier Cook, who has already said that it’s essential that exploration is maintained.”
Just earlier this month, the Western Australian Government awarded more than $12 million across three co-funded exploration programs through the Exploration Incentive Scheme, as reported by Mining.com.au.
The funding will support 96 projects in Western Australia alone.
Other commodities expected to be highly discussed across the week include copper, gold, lithium, and rare earths.
Trading Economics reports copper to have increased by 30.29% year-over-year, gold by 43.04%, and lithium by a dramatic 163.79%.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: RIU Sydney Resources Round-Up & Mining.com.au