Workshops have started at the 2018 International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Melbourne today, with the full conference set to open its doors tomorrow.
One of the country’s largest mining events, this year’s show is expected to see a collective worth of $5.4 trillion in assets among investors, a huge increase on the $94.6 billion in assets under management seen in 2017.
“Current figures show that more than 400 investors are ready to invest over $14 billion in mining and resources projects at IMARC this year, doubling their commitment of $7 billion from this time last year,” said event director Anita Richards.
Representatives of companies such as BHP, Newcrest, Fortescue and Anglo American. Also in attendance will be a slew of technology companies, including Amazon Web Services, drone-focused Airobotics, Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific, Komatsu, Modular, SICK, and plenary theatre sponsor Dassault Systémes, among many others.
Several of these companies will be bringing inventive displays and workshops; Dassault will have interactive VR exhibits set up to display its 3DEXPERIENCE platform to delegates, for example.
To accomodate the increasing popularity of the event, the event’s floorspace is 7500 square metres, 3000 square metres larger than at last year’s show.
“In 2017, over 90 million in investments were recorded over the three days of the event with 42 per cent of investors backing projects identified at IMARC,” said Richards.
“Commodity buyers, traders, and public and private investors will all be actively seeking new investment opportunities, looking to speak directly to senior executives to assess and compare an extensive range of investment opportunities in the mining and energy sectors.”