Reed Exhibitions said support for its events, including QREX in July and Mining & Energy NSW Exhibition in September, was holding up well.

“There’s no walking away from job losses caused by the collapse in demand for coking coal from steelmakers, but miners are finding there is demand for their skills elsewhere in the industry,” Reed director John Gorton said.

“For example, Ensham Resources has just announced a $1 billion underground expansion near Emerald.

“The resources sector in Queensland is diversified and strong, reflected in the fact that the coal industry is still forecast to return $3.2 billion in royalties to taxpayers this financial year.”

This year’s event will be the first time QREX is organised by Reed – the exhibition alternating years with the highly successful Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhbition (QME) in Mackay.

Gorton said recent news the Queensland government would fast-track about a dozen key mining projects to create more than 1500 jobs in regional Queensland was helping to add to confidence in the medium and longer-term outlook for the industry.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche added the amount of revenue to be generated by coal mines in 2009-10 was equal to the entire Queensland resources sector just three years ago.

“And with more than one in every four jobs in central Queensland linked to the fortunes of the minerals and energy sector, QREX provides a window to a future that is everyone’s business,” Roche said.