QME 2026 in Mackay: automation, AI and capital flows – key insights for mine teams
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on Australian Mining
30 Second Briefing
QME 2026 in Mackay drew thousands of mining professionals over three days, confirming its status as Australia’s largest regional mining event and focusing on digital transformation, automation and international capital flows. Conference sessions examined autonomous haulage and drilling systems, AI‑driven fleet optimisation and remote operations centres, alongside discussions on foreign investment frameworks for Queensland coal and critical minerals. For engineers and operators, the event signalled accelerating deployment of automation in brownfield pits and a sharper investor lens on decarbonisation, productivity metrics and project risk.
Technical Brief
- Exhibition floor hosted OEM demonstrations of autonomous haul trucks, drill rigs and tele-remote loaders.
- Several vendors showcased retrofit autonomy kits for existing haul fleets, targeting brownfield truck models.
- Remote operations technologies on display included high-bandwidth pit-to-port communications and low-latency control rooms.
- Digital twins for open-cut and underground mines were demonstrated for real-time geotechnical and production monitoring.
- Condition monitoring systems focused on vibration, temperature and load data for critical rotating and conveying equipment.
- Drill and blast exhibitors promoted blast design software integrating fragmentation prediction with slope stability constraints.
- Environmental booths emphasised dust suppression systems, water recycling hardware and low‑NOx diesel engine packages.
- For similar mining projects, showcased tools point to tighter integration of planning, operations and asset health.
Our Take
In our database of 1260 Mining stories, QME in Mackay stands out as one of the few recurring Australian events that consistently links OEM product launches with project-facing technical sessions, making it a bellwether for what will actually reach Queensland mine sites over the next few years.
The related piece on the RCOE–UQ–Mining3 partnership, launched at QME 2026, signals that this exhibition is becoming a preferred platform in Queensland for formalising R&D collaborations around critical minerals and low-emission mining technologies rather than just showcasing kit.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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