The Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition (QME) has celebrated its 30th anniversary alongside breaking its previous exhibitor and attendance records.
As Australia’s largest regional mining event, QME welcomed more than 5,000 visitors to Mackay Showgrounds over three days, with more than 300 exhibitors and 29 seminar sessions.
The Seminar Series, sponsored by Komatsu, opened with a keynote by Federal Minister for Resources, Madeleine King, who covered the importance of Queensland’s resources sector and its strong future ahead thanks to growing interest in the state’s critical minerals.
“Queensland resources play a critically important role in the national economy,” Ms King said.
“All the resources that are mined and processed here in Queensland provide income to the national and state economy, as well as jobs for everyday Queenslanders. The new diversification of the resources sector to critical minerals and rare earth elements is also key to drive international investment, from right here in Mackay to further west in Queensland.”
Following Minister King’s keynote, the week’s panel discussions at the seminar series commenced with a rousing discussion around Queensland’s royalties regime, moderated by Bowen Basin Mining Club Director, Jodie Currie, and featuring Paul Flynn of Whitehaven Coal, Janette Hewson of Queensland Resources Council, Matthew Anderson of Commodity Insights and Dr Ross Lambie of the Minerals Council of Australia.
The panel’s overwhelming theme was a call for simplicity and stability in the royalties regime going forward, both to restore confidence in the state’s policy environment and to fill the sector’s pipeline of projects well into the future.
Also needed to fill that pipeline is the talent and skills of the next generation of trade workers, operators and engineers. Mining services provider Macmahon showcased their unique approach to training operators at QME 2024, bringing their dump truck training simulator to the exhibition and challenging future trade workers with a cylinder assembly challenge.
General Manager Mining, Tim Fuller, said that the week was a great opportunity to connect with the community where Macmahon operates.
“We have had a great response from people at the event visiting us to try out our simulator, build the cylinder heads or meet our team and talk to us about opportunities for careers with Macmahon,” Mr Fuller said.
In the largest-ever outdoor exhibition was an array of mining equipment, graders and excavators, including a Hitachi EX 1200-7. The machine, which was en route to Jellinbah Mine, was a highlight of the outdoor area as people were allowed to catch an up close and personal glimpse into the excavator’s cab.
Hitachi Construction Machinery General Manager Mining Sales, Sean Ryan, said that the excavator had certainly started plenty of conversations.
“We have been particularly impressed with the engagement right here ‘at the coalface’ of Queensland’s mining industry at QME,” Mr Ryan said.
“We’ve had a fantastic time over the week, meeting with exactly the right kind of people.”
The right people, in the right place, at the right time, was a theme that carried over into the indoor pavilions. Innovative metal 3D printing business Spee3d said that it had some fantastic conversations with people interested in its technology, which can manufacture metal parts on demand, significantly shortcutting supply chain constraints.
Spee3d Head of Sales Australasia, Ben Hockley, said that Spee3d is looking to move into the mining sector from an initial client base in defence.
“We’re solving similar problems in terms of supply chains, eliminating downtime,” Mr Hockley said.
“The right people have been in the room at QME to introduce our technology at the site level – we’ve had the right conversations with the people who understand the need for our technology.”
But it wasn’t just out-of-town exhibitors benefiting from the foot traffic: local Mackay supplier of industrial and safety consumables, Hillcock Industrial, said that its first time at QME had been a particularly successful one.
“We’ve had conversations with an interesting diversity of people,” said Hillcock industrial CEO and Founder, Sandra Alcock.
“It’s great that there are so many people interested in the mining sector. QME has been a great opportunity to put our name out there to new clients, as well as connecting and networking with our existing suppliers.”
Hillcock Industrial and Spee3d were among 172 new exhibitors at QME 2024, with an exhibitor cohort spanning mining equipment, technology and services companies to major mining producers and contractors.
QME will return to Mackay in July 2026.
Featured image: A Komatsu excavator at QME. Image credit: Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition.
