Asia-Pacific’s International Mining Exhibition – AIMEX – will be held at the Sydney Showground next month, featuring more than 600 exhibitors.
Originally held every four years, the event has now been scheduled to run at two-year intervals instead.
Interestingly, there are relatively few major companies attending the 2013 show.
Given the logistics involved in attending an event such as AIMEX – particularly for the large equipment manufacturers – it’s maybe no surprise that some companies decided not to travel to Sydney.
Not only is this year’s AIMEX taking place two years sooner than originally planned, it’s also being held less than a year after Minexpo in the US.
Minexpo is the world’s largest mining show, held every four years and attracting more than 1800 exhibitors – three times the size of AIMEX.
Transporting equipment and technology to Las Vegas, Nevada, isn’t cheap. Doing the same again in Australia, less than 12 months later, is challenging to say the least. Especially given the current financial climate.
Plenty has been written about the health of Australian mining. Everyone has their own opinion.
The mood of the show will reflect the feeling among those working across every level of the industry.
AIMEX will take place before or after the federal election – depending on when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd sets a date.
By the time delegates start arriving in Sydney for AIMEX, if Australia hasn’t already voted, the political parties must surely have set out their blueprint for the mining industry by then.
These policies will affect everyone gathering at Sydney Showground.
The companies attending AIMEX will have a point to prove. This is their chance to shout about everything that’s good about their technology, equipment or services.
Having attended Minexpo in Las Vegas last year, I find it easier to gauge feeling when talking to companies directly.
Forget the corporate message, glass half-full or half-empty – the thousands attending AIMEX will be eager to chew the fat on the issues important to them and their companies.
