This year the conference grew to five days – with Monday, Tuesday and Friday being presentations only, with the main exhibition and keynote speakers on Wednesday and Thursday.
The format divided delegates. Some said it was too long and suggested a three-day exhibition with more than one session running at the same time, while others said the smaller-scale days gave them more of a chance to arrange meetings.
Monday was all about industrial and base metals, with a range of company spotlights as well as commodity forecasts, while Tuesday was precious metals day.
On Tuesday morning, presentations by Vulpes Investment Management portfolio manager Grant Williams and the “Mercenary Geologist” Mickey Fulp were a hit.
The rain did not dampen the mood on Tuesday night, with Cannacord Genuity and Gresham Partners among the companies hosting soirees for attendees.
Wednesday brought the start of the main show, with Newcrest Mining’s Greg Robinson kicking off the strong first session of keynotes with a speech on the state of the gold industry.
He warned there would be a “taxi queue” for project funding and urged companies to be patient.
“Good projects should find funding,” Robinson said.
Sprott Asset Management chief executive officer, chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager Eric Sprott was up next, with a presentation entitled “Mania. Manipulation. MELTDOWN”, which was a grim assessment of the global economy.
Afterwards, one journalist labelled it depressing, to which Sprott replied: “It wasn’t depressing, it was realistic! I’m an optimist.”
Fortescue Metals Group CEO Nev Power rounded out the morning keynote session in a speech focusing on the importance of a “can-do” culture.
“As we grow into a big mining company we want to be able to think like a small mining company,” he said.
Echoing Robinson’s thoughts on funding later in the day was PricewaterhouseCoopers partner and global mining leader Tim Goldsmith, who described 2012 as a horror year for equity raisings.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a harder time to raise funds for early stage exploration,” he said.
Bloomberg’s Ken Hoffman was even more bearish, telling MNP that as many as 75% of companies attending the conference could be bankrupt this time next year.
He also noticed that Chinese investors were thin on the ground.
Meanwhile, creating buzz around midday on Wednesday was the impeccably well-timed announcement by Sirius Resources of its maiden Nova resource.
Word spread quickly, with some of the terms MiningNewsPremium heard delegates use including “world-class” and “discovery of the decade”
The news may not have boosted Sirius’ share price that day, but it ensured that managing director Mark Bennett enjoyed a large audience for his presentation just hours after the announcement.
Following the speech, there was a large crowd surrounding Sirius’ booth, including many just stopping by to congratulate the company.
Bennett said the company could not have hoped for a better outcome and now attention would turn to the new Bollinger discovery while advancing Nova development plans.
Goldcorp boss Chuck Jeannes kicked off proceedings on Thursday with a keynote about the issues facing the gold industry and what his company was doing to address them.
He also said the high gold price might be working against producers in terms due to lack of “optionality”
“It’s less easy to believe it’s going to double like it could at $400,” he said.
Later in the morning, Canadian mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland took to the stage to spruik two major discoveries made by his company Ivanplats.
Those who saw Friedland present at Investing in African Mining Indaba last month would have seen much of the same, but it was during question time that he made his most interesting comments.
He said he’d prefer to be in Africa than Australia or Canada, before launching an attack on western governments, accusing them of “w***king on”
His comment “do you trust the redhead?”, referring to Julia Gillard, received loud laughter and applause from delegates.
Other speakers on Thursday included Argonaut executive chairman Charles Fear, who labelled Northern Star Resources as the standout gold producer in Australia, helped by good grades.
“Bill Beament and his team have done a fantastic job,” he said.
Thursday seemed quieter around the booths, but it might have been due to Helmsec’s New Dawn resources forum, which one delegate described as “speed-dating” between companies and investors.
The Mines and Money gala dinner was held on Thursday night to celebrate the Asia Mining Awards, with winners including the Kyrgyz Republic (country), Sirius Resources (discovery), Owen Hegarty (personality) and General Nice Group (deal).
Xstrata-Glencore was also up for Deal of the Year, but received loud boos when read out.
Organisers for the first time awarded the Jury’s prize, which went to Friedland, who was there to accept it.
Also in attendance was Australian Sarah Armstrong, the SouthGobi Resources lawyer who had been barred from leaving Mongolia late last year.
Friday’s event went back to the smaller format but included keynotes from Aurania Resources CEO Keith Barron and QAsia Holding’s executive director David Rohanna.
Overall the mood was cautious, though some said it was more positive than the grim vibe at PDAC in Toronto earlier in the month.
Despite gloomy conditions – made worse by news out of Cyprus – delegates reported strong interest from the investment community.
