Diggers and Dealers 2015:Hannan Street Blues

Thank you, Aussie dollar — Citi attended the annual Diggers & Dealersconference in Kalgoorlie (WA), last week. "Diggers" is considered one of the mainevents on the calendar for the Australian resources sector, so the health of theconference is a good barometer for that of the industry. The mood this year in theconference marquee (and afterwards, again, in the hostelries of Hannan Street) wasless ebullient than 2014. Movement of the ASX300 Metals & Mining index explainswhy … it lost 27% over the preceding 12 months, compared to a 7% gain in theprevious year. However, the weaker A$ in 2015 has provide some protection forlocal miners, softening the blow of falling commodity prices and allowing foroptimism around cash flow.

    The numbers — At 1,765 delegate numbers were down ~5% on 2014 (Figure 1)