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From copper to gold and the many nuggets in between – an eye-opening experience for BMO scholar Sarah Hill.

The 35^th annual BMO Capital Markets Global Metals, Mining and Critical Minerals conference was held from 22-25 February in Hollywood, Florida. There was a record investor turnout with over 650 capital providers and more than 300 companies representing over $2.6 trillion in market cap under one roof.

Responsible Mining and Metals Finance (RMMF) student Sarah Hill is the 2025/26 recipient of the BMO Scholarship for Women in Responsible Mining and Metals Finance, an award that has been supported by BMO for over a decade. Conference attendance is offered as a bonus for the scholarship recipient and organised by BMO Capital Markets.

The highlight presentations for Sarah were those from the CEOs of BHP, Rio Tinto, Newmont, Glencore and Vale, a lunch keynote on the US Government Critical Minerals Strategy led by senior government officials, and a presentation from Sandfire Resources. This was particularly pertinent, as Sarah’s dissertation project is owned by Sandfire Resources America, a subsidiary of Sandfire Resources.

Other highlights included the evening events, where more candid conversations took place outside of the conference formalities, and sitting in on presentations from both senior producers and earlier stage developers, which gave a good sense of how differently companies at different stages of the mining lifecycle think about capital, risk and growth, and how the current environment is creating opportunities at every level of the market. One area Sarah came away knowing considerably more about was royalties and streaming as a financing mechanism.

The biggest takeaway for Sarah was the recurring conversations regarding national security, government policy and geopolitical issues and their intersection with critical mineral mining and processing, particularly copper. Other insights included the changing investor landscape, talent supply concerns with less graduates coming out of mining engineering and geology programmes and the influence of AI as both a driver of demand for new metals needed in data centre infrastructure, and a tool in the industry to improve exploration, operational efficiency and decision-making.

Walking away from the conference it was hard not to feel that the metals and mining sector is at an inflection point... Being in the room where those conversations were happening was an experience that was both unique and incredibly valuable Sarah Hill RMMF MSc student at 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ

Sarah said, "Walking away from the conference it was hard not to feel that the metals and mining sector is at an inflection point. The combination of structural demand growth, geopolitical urgency, a maturing approach to capital discipline and a broadening investor base creates a backdrop that feels genuinely different from previous cycles. Being in the room where those conversations were happening was an experience that was both unique and incredibly valuable."

911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ is grateful to BMO Capital Markets for their ongoing support of our students in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering and thank BMO for allowing Sarah this wonderful opportunity.