The 2024 Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition (QME) celebrated over 30 years of connecting Bowen Basin’s industry – the exhibition also broke exhibitor and attendance records.
As Australia’s largest regional mining event, QME welcomed over 5,000 visitors to Mackay Showgrounds over 3 days with over 300 exhibitors and 29 seminar sessions.
The Seminar Series, sponsored by Komatsu, opened with a keynote by Federal Resources Minister 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. 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 this year, bringing their dump truck training simulator to the exhibition and challenging future trade workers with a cylinder assembly challenge.
General Manager Mining Tim Fuller says the week has been 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.”
In the largest-ever outdoor exhibition was an array of mining equipment, graders and excavators, including an eye-catching 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. Sean Ryan, General Manager Mining Sales for Hitachi Construction Machinery, said 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. 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 say they’ve had some fantastic conversations with people interested in their technology, which can manufacture metal parts on demand, significantly shortcutting supply chain constraints
“We’re 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. 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,” said Ben Hockley, Head of Sales Australasia for Spee3d.
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 their first time at QME had been a particularly successful one.
“We’ve had conversations with an interesting diversity of people – 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,” said Sandra Alcock, CEO and Founder of Hillcock Industrial.
Hillcock Industrial and Spee3d were among 172 new exhibitors at QME this year, with an exhibitor cohort spanning mining equipment, technology and services (METS) companies to major mining producers and contractors in the Mining Pavilion, including Anglo American, Bravus, BHP + BMA, BUMA, MacKellar Group, Whitehaven Coal, and Glencore.
QME will return to Mackay in July 2026.
