AME Roundup Day 2: Trip Report
I share my thoughts on my day at AME Roundup and use it to try to provide useful information for those who couldn't attend themselves.
tl;dr:
I provide a trip report of my day (day 2) at AME Roundup: Conversations had and overheard, observations, things learned, and my own thoughts and reflections.
Introduction
On Tuesday I attended AME Round-Up Day 2. And having been now to a few conferences, it proved itself to be a unique beast. Here, the full display of industry required to make junior explorers tick was present. Geophysics tools and analytical software, camp supplies, drills, diamond bits, drones of a variety of shapes and sizes, handheld tools, and more all could be found alongside the explorers, with equal interest scattered across them all.
The interpretation I was offered from insiders I spoke to beforehand certainly seemed to ring true in the end - VRIC was the generalist, public-facing conference dedicated to matching investors with resource companies, while AME was the one for industry insiders, by industry insiders, with an emphasis on the process of mineral exploration, not the business of it.
On a purely personal level, I was more impressed by AME due to fact it gave me an opportunity to engage with and learn about aspects of the industry I haven’t had as much experience with as of yet. This isn’t to say I necessarily believe one is better than the other – their goals are obviously different in nature. If your sole aim is to speak to public exploration companies, then VRIC is the clear answer (and likely that’s the focus of most people looking to attend one of these conferences). However, if you have any interest in immersing yourself in the industry and learning the technical side, then AME Roundup is an absolute must.
(As an aside: Yes, PDAC has its own industry floor, but it felt overlooked – isolated on its own on a proverbial backstage when the spotlight and the action and the movers and shakers are over on the main stage. Not so at Roundup, where industry and technical content is front and center and the entire raison d’etre for being there. If you are there, you’ve selected into it for that very reason, leading to a lot of positive and exciting energy.
My Thoughts
Anyway, onto my thoughts based on my wanderings and conversations on Roundup.
1.5-2X the size of VRIC with more foot traffic.
Attitudes were similarly positive to VRIC. No despondency.
Definite general sense of familiarity and comradery in the aisles – it is a small industry and they’re all here for the annual reunion.
There was some absolutely gorgeous rock to ogle.
Overheard snippets denoted some rivalries/inter-industry camps.
Definitely a different audience, with an assumed higher level of knowledge. Where my conversations with companies at VRIC began with very basic introductions by companies, AME seemed to operate under the assumption of heightened knowledge. Geos unafraid to talk shop using the language of their profession. Also unsurprisingly, discussions emphasised exploration over market concerns. I don’t think one person brought up things like float or cash balance unprompted at Roundup.
American Eagle’s and Snowline’s core booths were extremely busy.
The price tag – nearly $300 for a day as a non-member – definitely kept some of the great unwashed masses out. Far fewer “normal” looking people not associated with a company wandering the halls.
Old prospectors with the mountain still in their beard would linger around companies who they had sold their claims to, their pride obvious, eager to share their stories of nights on the mountain and their moments of discovery.
Maybe 10-15% of the booths were publicly traded explore cos. The rest were support industries.
Lots of smaller (sub $10m) project generator/prospector-led companies, many of whom I had never heard of. I don’t pretend to know all of the 4,000ish public explore cos, but I know quite a few so I was intrigued and surprised to see so many companies I didn’t know already.
There wasn’t a single “wasted” booth dedicated to shoe inserts like I found at PDAC (though to be fair, PDAC remains an absolute must for its size and scale and spectacle – definitely still the top dog in North American resource conferences I think).
Core shack was great. Even outside of the core shack lots of core boxes around. Lots of discussion available for the inquiring minds on results.
Many, many jurisdictions present. Half a dozen provinces, all the territories, other countries.
At VRIC I overheard constant deals and pitches for equity being made. Here, meanwhile, I overheard phone calls pitching different drill rigs – “You can have the smaller cheaper one now that doesn’t quite fit your needs, or wait a month or two for the one that solves all your problems. The buzz of deals in the hallways over phone calls was constant.
I heard comparatively more deals being made at AME compared to VRIC where it was more gossip and water cooler chat. But that might be the timing – I was at VRIC the last and quieter day while at AME I was there in the thick of it.
If you’re wanting to talk to companies, avoid the couple hours around lunch time. All the representatives will be at surrounding pubs.
Lots of people happy to talk shop. I had conversations about rig ratings, drone capabilities, and the aforementioned whisker prospector chats. I talked shop at VRIC as well, but it’s a different shop of course.
Conclusion
Anyway, in the end the two were nicely complementary. For a purist investor looking solely to sound out new ideas and increase their understanding of their investments, VRIC is still the place to be in the Vancouver circuit. For those looking to immerse themselves in the world of resource exploration and talk shop – and listen to shop being talked – I can’t recommend Roundup enough. I get the sense the short courses at AME would be immensely rewarding versus what I thought to be fairly tepid side stages at VRIC, but I didn't shell out the ~$600 needed to get in the door, so it’s only a theory.
As for the next round of conferences… presently I am on the fence for attending PDAC as it is sandwiched around a couple trips I already have planned. That being said, I have plans to attend Beaver Creek and maybe a couple others next summer, so look for trip reports then as well. And make sure to let me know if you’ve got companies you’d like me to contact in these situations. I followed through on a couple requests for followers and was glad I could help people out. Again, I can’t stress how much value there is in getting in these rooms with these people if you want to make a go of it in this sector. – If you ever get the chance to attend one, do.
Thanks, as always. Your support is gratefully appreciated.
-Matthew from JRI