Diggers & Dealers is an annual mining conference held in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia which was first held in 1992. The 2012 event represented the 20th running of the event. It is "Australia's premier international mining conference".
Contents
History
The annual conference was initiated by Geoffrey J. Stokes in 1992, when the first edition, consisting of 150 delegates was held, but has since expanded to over 2,000 delegates annually. Despite the conference having somewhat outgrown Kalgoorlie, a move to one of Australia's capital cities has not been considered. Former chairman Brian Hurley once described the outing as something of a "religious retreat", an attribute, he thinks, it would lose if it was to move to a capital city.
2009
The 2009 edition of the conference came in the wake of the global financial crisis, with 12,000 jobs having been lost in the Australian mining industry in the previous eight months. Despite this, Western Australian mining recovered much better than most, and the general mood was "upbeat", unlike in the previous year.
2010
The event, usually non-political and mining orientated, was overshadowed in 2010 by the upcoming Australian federal elections, held less than three weeks later. It was dominated by discussion about the unpopular Mineral Resource Rent Tax, MRRT, newly introduced by the Kevin Rudd/Julia Gillard government, which was seen as disadvantaging the smaller mining companies and favouring the larger ones like Rio Tinto, Xstrata and BHP Billiton. The conferences chairman, Barry Eldridge, predicted the political backlash for the government already before the conference.
The 2010 conference was attended by 2,200 delegates. The conference stretches Kalgoorlie's abilities to accommodate all delegates to the extreme. Rooms are often booked out two years in advance, with nightly rates rising by 150% during the conference. Local residents are encouraged to rent out their houses during the event and leave town. A three-bedroom house can fetch several thousand dollars for three days.
In 2010, the three-day program consisted of presentations by major and minor mining companies, especially gold miners. In 2010, AngloGold Ashanti, through CEO Mark Cutifani, Barrick Gold, through Gary Halverson, President Asia Pacific and Fortescue Metals Group, represented by CEO Andrew Forrest, were some of the major presenters.
Another outcome of the 2010 conference was the recognition that mining had to lift its profile nationally and to advertise better its record on "job creation, relations with indigenous people and its environmental record".
After the Boom
Despite downturn in mining in 2015 the event was still held
Fees
As of 2010, a premium three-day pass as a delegate to the conference costs A$1,750, while a one-day pass is A$750.
Awards
Annually, the conference hands out a number of awards for achievements in the mining industry. Since 1997, the G.J. Stokes Memorial Award, the Digger Award and the Dealer Award are awarded. In 2003, a Media Award was added and in 2007, a Best Emerging Company award. Former award winners include Joseph Gutnick (1997), the only individual to win the Digger Award, and Robert Champion de Crespigny, former CEO of Normandy Mining.