Recently, the ‘Chanticleer’ column in the Australian Financial Review had this to say about the US economy:
“Hyperscale spending is fuelling an astonishing earnings boom for anything that’s part of the tech/data centre supply chain.”
A similar effect is taking place in the resources market.
High gold and copper prices are benefiting companies operating in or exposed to the mining sector.
There are many examples: tankers that ship ore to foreign ports, planes that fly workers to mine sites, and so on.
Another is investment banks, which earn fees from capital raisings as mining companies raise money to expand production, acquire assets, or fund exploration.
The most obvious beneficiaries of a resources upswing are mining services companies.
One standout today is IMDEX (ASX:IMD). The company just released its full-year results.
IMDEX CEO Paul House told the market this morning:
“FY26 was an excellent year for IMDEX, delivering record revenue, strong earnings growth, and margin expansion.”
IMDEX’s management also provided a ‘macro’ update in its company presentation released this morning.
The outlook across the sector appears positive for the company.
The team expects global exploration budgets to increase by double digits in 2026 compared with 2025, with further growth forecast in 2027.
Resource companies can only explore if they have the funding to do so. IMDEX says that junior and intermediate financing increased by 145% year-on-year to US$27 billion ($38.1 billion).
That will eventually show up as revenue for firms like IMDEX.
The company also has an extra kicker now that it did not have in previous mining cycles.
Government support worldwide is coming in, especially for critical minerals and domestic supply chain security.
Today, IMDEX jumped up at the open, suggesting the market is happy with the results and guidance for the upcoming year.
Another point to note is that IMDEX reinvests a substantial portion of revenue for research and development (around 8% for the last financial year). That equates to $43 million — a substantial sum.
The company says:
“Investment is increasingly focused on AI, digital platforms, and next-generation technologies.”
This brings the discussion back to the original quote at the top of the article. The investment flowing into AI worldwide is going to show up in the resources sector too.
AI and mining look likely to become increasingly intertwined.
House put it this way in the annual report:
“Surging demand for commodities in response to significant policy changes around the world and an underlying decline in available minerals reserves — coupled with a high inflationary environment — is elevating demand for the comprehensive portfolio of technologies and solutions we are building to deliver productivity to exploration operations.”
IMDEX’s strategy involves using acquisitions to bolster its technology offering, including AI to better understand ore bodies and identify drilling targets.
Given the scale of current AI development, the move appears shrewd.
Companies in the mining sector are likely to benefit from both AI and resource sector tailwinds.
Write to Callum Newman at Mining.com.au
Images: Unsplash
