RIU Sydney Round-up 2014

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Next week the Australian mining sector will gather in Sydney for the eleventh annual RIU Sydney Resources Round-Up.

The three day conference is being held at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth Hotel and is set to provide the investment community with opportunities to meet the people behind some of Australia’s leading exploration and mid-tier mining companies.

“Brokers and investors from all over Australia come to see and hear first-hand from the companies what progress has been made and what their strategies will be for the next 12 months and beyond,” Stewart McDonald, managing director of conference organiser Vertical Events said.

“The highly attended auditorium provides the perfect outlet for resources executives to present their latest exploration and mining developments.”

The conference schedule is full to the brim with 36 companies sharing the bill with a number of keynote speakers, including Lion Selection Group executive director Hedley Widdup, who provided us with some insight to his presentation.

“2012 and 2013 were like a death of 1000 cuts for junior miners, as the availability of capital and their valuations both went through a persistent decline,” Widdup told The Resources Roadhouse.

“Price is proportional to liquidity – one will not recover without the other.

“The conditions of mid 2013 showed many signs of being the lowest ebb of liquidity.

“A return to boom conditions is likely to be slow, previous cycles have all been this way, but nevertheless it appears the worst is behind us.”

Another presentation that is sure to attract a crowd will be the one titled, ‘Where are the Opportunities?’ that from Breakaway Research senior research analyst Mark Gordon.

Gordon told The Roadhouse he expects to be covering is a brief history of the recent boom, a view of where the industry is currently at, and possibly heading, then looking at where investment opportunities are at and what to look for in assessing them.

“We have now entered a period of consolidation following the end of the resources ‘super-cycle’, which commenced in 2003 and was driven largely by China,” Gordon said.

“Despite the recent falls in resources, we still see plenty of opportunities in the sector, however quality is now the keyword, with the speculation and euphoria of the boom well behind us.

“Investment selection will require judicious due diligence, with critical factors to be assessed including quality of management and projects.”