RIU Resources Round-up shines a spotlight on emerging miners

More than 40 ASX-listed resources companies, government representatives, and leading industry experts will present at one of Australia’s top mining investment conferences in Brisbane this week.

The Brisbane Resources Round-Up — running October 17 and 18 — brings together some of Australia’s most interesting mining companies and corporate investment advisors in one place.

Vertical Events managing director Stewart McDonald told Stockhead the last couple of years have been good for miners looking to raise capital.

However, the last few months have seen a slight decrease in investment appetite – so the keynote trends will be important.

“The keynote presentations provide great insight into the trends to follow, and the potentially issues investors should be mindful about,” he said.

Popular speaker Julian Babarczy, from Regal Funds Management, will discuss the the drivers of battery-related commodity markets — such as lithium and cobalt — and why it remains a compelling sector to invest in.

He will also cover how Regal reviews the ‘investment thesis’ of stocks in high growth sectors such as this.

“We believe investors should focus on quality assets in tier 1 jurisdictions,” Mr Babarczy told Stockhead.

“To use a cliche, “grade is king” — as is the ability of the company to ultimately finance their project. Projects with capital hurdles that are too high potentially suffer the fate of never being developed.”

He acknowledged that there was some short-term oversupply in battery-related commodities but — like many experts — saw significant shortages emerging in the early to mid 2020’s.

“We think this will lead to sustained higher prices when compared to historical levels,” he said.

“[But this will be] coupled with costs that are likely also to settle at structurally higher levels, due to increased government taxes as well as the requirement for higher cost [mining] projects to satisfy demand.

“Overall, we are very positive on the outlook for battery related commodities.”

And if battery related equities remain under pressure — as they are now — there is potential for increased mergers and acquisitions within the sector, Mr Babarczy added.

“It may prove cheaper for larger companies to buy capacity, rather than build it or develop new projects.”

Brisbane Resources Round-Up — which Stockhead supports as official media partner — kicks off at 9am on Wednesday October 17 and runs until 5pm Thursday October 18.

Download the RIU Brisbane Resources Round-up program here.

There will be a broad mix of resources players presenting, from those active in the favoured battery metals and gold segments to those on the hunt for mineral sands, base metals, and coal.

“At our recent resources conferences the majority of participating companies have been focused in either the gold or electric battery sectors,” Mr McDonald said.

“However, what is pleasing about this program is the company diversity.

“Not surprisingly, there are still a good weight of lithium and gold focused companies, but we also have base metals, bauxite, mineral sands, high purity aluminium and even Ventor – who represents the silica space.”

Prospective investors should meet and engage with the key executives from these companies, Mr MacDonald said.

“Meeting these executives is an important part of the buying process for most investors,” he said.

Major gold miner Resolute (ASX:RSG) – which has a market cap of nearly $800m – is presenting at the Resources Round-Up for the first time.

Mr MacDonald expects Resolute to attract many local investors looking to hear about the development and expansion plans at its Queensland-based Ravenswood gold project.

Attendees will also hear from Galena Mining (ASX:G1A) which on a pathway to production at its Abra lead-silver project, and Cassini Resources (ASX:CZI) which has the largest undeveloped nickel–copper project in Australia at West Musgrave.

Other presenters include near term bauxite and mineral sands producer Metallica Minerals (ASX:MLM), gold miner Gascoyne Resources (ASX:GCY), and Pacific American Coal (ASX:PAK) – which has a 257 million tonne resource at its flagship Elko coking coal project in Canada.