RIU Explorers Conference 2026: Three Days on the Ground in Freo

Every year, a few hundred small-cap explorers set up booths at the RIU Explorers Conference in Fremantle. Most of them stay small, but some of them don’t. De Grey Mining presented here a few years ago and Northern Star took them out for $5 billion last year. We flagged FireFly Metals at around 50 cents after RIU in 2024 – it’s just under $2 as we write this. This week we spent three days on the ground at the 2026 event, the biggest in the conference’s history, looking for what comes next.

With gold sitting around US$5,000/oz and copper holding near multi-year highs, the value buried in early-stage explorers is starting to get noticed. And when you look at who was walking the floor at the Esplanade Hotel last week, the market clearly agrees.

Inside RIU Explorers Conference 2026: The Room Told the Story

Perth brokers were out in force. A solid contingent had flown in from the east coast. Funds and family offices were working the floor alongside delegates from the majors. When you see that cross-section in one room, something has shifted.

Gold and copper dominated the conversation. Silver and platinum group elements had a presence too, but the weight of interest sat with the two metals that have been running hardest over the past 12 months.

Tuesday reportedly set a one-day attendance record. By Thursday morning you’d normally expect half-empty seats and a quieter floor, but the energy barely dropped. Once the clock ticked past 5pm each day, the conversations moved from the booths to the bar, poolside functions and cocktail events that ran late into the night.

If you want to speak to an MD at RIU, you walk up and have the conversation. At the booth with a coffee, or over a beer at the bar. That accessibility is what keeps this event a staple on the calendar.

ASX Small-Cap Companies We Caught Up With

We ran into board members from Fortuna Metals (ASX: FUN), Exultant Mining (ASX: 10X) and Top End Energy (ASX: TEE) across the three days. All three were fielding steady interest from brokers and investors.

On Wednesday afternoon, our portfolio company Asian Battery Metals (ASX: AZ9) presented to a near-full room. Managing Director Gan-Ochir Zunduisuren walked through the Oval discovery and the broader Mongolian exploration strategy, and the detail that caught our ear was timing: the next phase of exploration is due to kick off within weeks.

Drill rigs about to turn, a room full of brokers taking notes, and a story that’s still early enough to offer real upside if results come through. Of course, that cuts both ways. Exploration is binary, and a quiet result can deflate sentiment just as quickly as a strong one can build it. AZ9 has proven mineralisation with strong copper and gold hits. Now it’s about proving them at scale.

Three ASX Explorers That Caught Our Eye

We spent three days working through presentations, reading body language, and having the off-stage conversations that often tell you more than the formal pitch. Here are three names we came away thinking about.

Terra Minerals (ASX: TM1) — Up over 100% in the last month and over 900% in the last eight months meant that TM1, a PGE-copper-nickel explorer in Western Australia, were one of the most popular presenters and booths at this year’s conference. The PGE-copper-nickel discovery at their Dante project continues to grow, with some of the highest-grade PGE assays ever reported globally. With the company taking an aggressive approach to exploration with Thomas Line in charge, TM1 is looking to drill deeper to look for high-grade feeder zones that they believe lie beneath. In a market of increasing copper and PGE prices, TM1 with its strong bank balance, will be one to watch as drilling progresses over the coming months.

New Murchison Gold (ASX: NMG) — Up 600% since last year’s RIU Explorers conference, NMG is a gold company that continues to take all the necessary steps forward. In the past twelve months the company has reported an ore reserve, got its mining approval and started producing and selling gold. This rapid development made it a sweetheart of the conference with many lining up to speak with and watch CEO Alex Passmore present. With already impressive gold hits and exploration upside very much in play, NMG is one that all investors should be watching with a close eye.

What RIU 2026 Means for ASX Small-Cap Mining

Last week it was record crowds at Indaba and 121 in Cape Town. This week it was the biggest RIU in Fremantle we’ve ever attended. Two conferences, two continents, same message: capital is coming back to mining, and the junior end of the market is where the energy is sitting.

Four years ago, every second booth was a lithium story. This year it was gold and copper. The commodity flavour changes, but the cycle underneath is the same. Money flows to where the discoveries are, and right now there are enough companies with genuine exploration upside to keep the interest alive.

When you see the breadth of capital walking through the door, from Perth brokers to east coast funds to the majors doing their own quiet homework, the sector has legs heading into 2026.

Till next year.