As the weather gets colder on the Gold Coast, it’s time for locals and holiday makers to find something else to occupy their days.
And for those looking for their next investment opportunity, the Gold Coast Investment Showcase might just be the place to be.
Held from 11–12 June 2026 at the JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa, the Gold Coast Investment Showcase is an annual event that offers an atmosphere dominated by high-net-worth retirees, RIU Conferences General Manager Jaxon Crabb tells Mining.com.au.
“It is dominated by high net-worth retirees. It will become apparent that 80% of the investors are in that retirement age between 60 and 80,” Crabb tells this news service.
“They’ve had obviously some success in the past and they’ve built up some strong wealth, and they’ve also been attending this show with us since we started in 2007, they have a real strong understanding and commitment towards supporting mid-cap size companies.
“They like to listen to the presentation but then they’ll go to the exhibition stands and really take that opportunity to learn more about the people that are representing the company.”
The event follows on from the RIU Sydney Resources Round-Up in early May, as well as the RIU Explorers Conference held in Fremantle in February, two of RIU Conferences’ largest annual events.
“RIU runs the show, and it’s extremely well known with RIU Explorers and RIU Sydney being two of the top 3 largest conferences in Australia,” Crabb tells this news service.
“However, the Gold Coast Investment Showcase is a high-net-worth retiree and self-managed super-fund-focused event.
“A true indication that the Gold Coast Investment Showcase is a pure investment conference is the fact that when the company is presenting on the stage, the auditorium is absolutely full.”
The event is expected to showcase 41 companies over the two-day event, with an additional 10 companies on a waiting list, representing a drastic increase from a previous average of 30 companies.
“I definitely feel that there is a much stronger uplift in investment interest to what there has been in the last two years,” Crabb explains.
Crabb says this uplift in investment interest and activity is noticeable across registrations for the conference.
“Not surprisingly, we’re getting a great representation from Southeast Queensland residents, but we’re also seeing a lot of investors from New South Wales that are signing up,” Crabb adds.
What’s on display
Of the 41 companies presenting at the event, the Gold Coast Investment Showcase is expected to have a focus on early-stage explorers, leading conversations around gold, copper, the EV sector, and the Middle East.
“There’s a couple of companies presenting at the show that are exploring for copper, and some of them are exploring for copper in Queensland,” Crabb tells Mining.com.au.
“Typically, our Southeast Queensland investors are very parochial towards their own state and investing in the companies that may be based out at Mount Isa or somewhere like that.
“I believe gold will be strong, copper will be strong, and energy — in relation to the Strait of Hormuz and the situation there — will be heavily discussed.”
Mining.com.au recently reported that global copper demand is projected to reach around 50 million tonnes by 2050 due to the growing demand for the metal.
Mined copper production sat at 23 million tonnes in 2024, although total demand reached around 28.6 million tonnes.
As of 3 June 2026, the price of copper sat at US$6.63 ($9.29) per pound, representing a 36.04% increase year on year, according to Trading Economics.
Copper is an efficient conductor of electricity and is used in sectors such as electric vehicles (EVs), power generation and transmission, renewable energy, construction, and industrial machinery.
With ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, RIU Conferences’ Crabb explains that a reduction of oil supplied through the Strait of Hormuz could have a “flow-on effect to so many different businesses” in developed countries.
“I think there will be a lot of positive commentary in the future in relation to the whole EV sector that will be centred around energy security and energy diversification,” Crabb explains.
“It would probably be extremely prudent for countries going forward to make sure that they have a diversification of energy sources.
“You would think EV would be top on the agenda and a lot of infrastructure would be getting put in place to make sure in the future each country increases the amount of energy it can generate from solar panels, wind turbines, and other EV initiatives.
“If that’s the case, then that would be extremely beneficial to Australia because Australia has so much lithium, copper, cobalt, rare earths, and most of the commodities associated with the EV sector.”
Crabb describes Australia as the “most reliant and safest continent” to source these materials, highlighting the need for Australia’s resources industry.
“The beauty for Australia is the fact that we kind of host all the resources, and so it’s not as critical for our country to be increasing our EV infrastructure,” he adds.
“It’s just as significant if other countries around the world start making such commentary and initiatives.
“That would be incredibly beneficial to our junior exploration resources industry if many of the countries around the world are focusing on trying to find the next graphite resource, or rare earths resource, or lithium resource.”
Companies attending the RIU Gold Coast Investment Showcase include Lincoln Minerals (ASX:LML), Renegade Exploration (ASX:RNX), True North Copper (ASX:TNC), and Viking Mines (ASX:VKA).
The RIU Gold Coast Investment Showcase will be held from 11–12 June at the JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa.
Mining.com.au is an official media partner of this year’s conference.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au, RIU Conferences & Unsplash
