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Business News confirmed as official media partner for international mining innovation conference GRX26 in Perth
Business News has signed on as Official Media Partner for the Global Resources Innovation Expo (GRX26), an international conference and exhibition in Perth from 5-7 May 2026 showcasing Australia’s mining innovation to the world.
Hosted by peak bodies Austmine and AusIMM at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, GRX26 is expected to draw 2000 delegates including official delegations from Canada, the Philippines, India, Chile, Peru and the Nordic nations.
The conference is driven by mining companies and the innovative METS companies solving some of the industry’s most complicated challenges — from autonomous systems and AI-powered exploration through to critical minerals processing and value chain integration. Under the theme ‘Competing Globally in the Critical Era’, the program covers business strategy, technology deployment and the commercial partnerships shaping Australia’s resources value chain, from orebody to customer.
As part of the commercial partnership, Business News will work alongside the GRX26 conference team to amplify the program across our platforms, aligning our audience of senior decision-makers with key themes including mining automation and AI, critical minerals, investment, and the deployment of new technologies at operational mine sites.
The GRX26 program has been shaped through direct consultation with senior mining and METS leaders to target the issues the industry actually needs to confront — not standard conference content. Sessions are designed around commercial deployment and real operational outcomes, not pilot programs or product pitches. The two-day program connects decisions being made across the full value chain: from mine automation and AI scaling through to critical minerals processing, trade partnerships, capital investment and workforce strategy.
Former Anglo American chief executive Mark Cutifani FAusIMM will deliver a keynote on what he calls mining’s silent crisis — its failure to make the public case for the industry’s relevance. BHP’s Chief Digital Officer Mikko Tepponen will present on moving artificial intelligence from pilot to production across operating mines. Earth AI Founder and CEO Roman Teslyuk will present on AI-driven mineral exploration, where predictive targeting and purpose-built drilling have cut discovery costs by up to 80 per cent. Former Foreign Minister the Hon Julie Bishop will deliver a diplomatic briefing on the new rules of resource diplomacy, before joining a panel of international diplomats to interrogate whether Australia’s approach to strategic resource alliances is fit for the pace of the game. Scientific futurist Dr Catherine Ball closes the conference on the ethical questions already facing operators running autonomous systems.
The program also features Diane Smith-Gander AO (Chair of Perenti and Chancellor of UWA), Tania Constable PSM (CEO, Minerals Council of Australia), Dr Jacqui Coombes (Chair, Mining3), Paul Grimes (CEO, Austrade) and Jason Crusan (CEO of AROSE and former director of NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems).
Austmine Interim CEO Vanessa Haberland and AusIMM CEO Stephen Durkin said the partnership with Business News reflected the depth of the GRX26 program and its relevance to WA’s mining and METS sectors.
For more information and to register visit grx.au