Australia’s largest mining and resources conference and expo is underway in Sydney.
The International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) will host more than 7500 attendees from over 100 countries at Sydney’s International Convention Centre from November 2–4.
The conference is the largest of its kind in Australia and will provide the opportunity for domestic and international industry leaders to engage, learn, network and, most importantly, do business, while addressing key topics.
IMARC managing director Anita Richards said the response to this year’s event had been overwhelming.
“We’re welcoming a record number of delegates this year, representing 800 mining companies, and with IMARC exhibitors increasing by 85 per cent since 2019, we’ve had to expand the expo floor by 40 per cent,” she said.
Key themes to be discussed at this year’s conference include innovation and technology, energy transition acceleration, and redesigning the mining workforce and culture, among others.
The theme of accelerating the energy transition will be especially important as the global mining and resources industry continues to make a serious and collaborative efforts in responding to the threat of climate change.
Cyber security is another important theme in discussions, with the sector’s growing reliance on technology across the entire value chain making the subject more relevant than ever.
IMARC speaker and chairman of the Mining and Metals Information Sharing Analysis Centre Rob Labbé said the industry was yet to identify cyber security as a key business risk.
“It’s where safety was 20 years ago, where it was largely seen as a technical problem, and you put up another guard rail and the issue was solved; versus now, when you’ll be hard pressed to find an operator where safety is not continuously discussed at the executive and board level,” he said.
IMARC attendees can look forward to seeing these themes addressed in an expanded conference, expo and floorplan.
“At its core, IMARC creates a global conversation and is all about the business of mining and resources,” IMARC director of conference content and strategy Sherene Asnasyous said.
“It provides extensive opportunities for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and cross-sector engagement to help drive a smarter, more productive industry of the future.”