3 AMEC R eport 2018 R eport From Our Chief Ex ecutive 2018 was a year of transition which saw the fortunes of the mining and mineral e xploration industry improve mark edly Investors returned to the industry early in the year e xploration e xpenditure grew strongly and mining activity abounded W elcome news for member companies that have endured a hard and long downturn But it hasn t all been good news the recovery has still been patchy across the country W estern A ustralia Queensland and New South W ales were the frst to beneft with the Northern T erritory and South A ustralia following behind Governments can claim little credit for this turnaround It has been the hard work of e xplorers and miners that has seen the energising of our industry and a reward for their tenacity Despite this many challenges remain The mining industry is under the spotlight and facing greater scrutiny than ever before Governments continue to increase regulatory requirements and comple x approvals processes are slowing development opportunities Small e xploration companies are still doing the lion s share of greenfelds e xploration in A ustralia and it remains the case that the longterm future of our industry depends on their success In this challenging environment our industry s success will be determined by our members persistence innovation and commitment As always discovery success often proves elusive however there are many positive signs and recent announcements that bode well for greater success in 2019 AMEC will be working to support these eforts again in 2019 Over the course of the year AMEC has achieved a number of longterm goals principal among them was the implementation of the Junior Mineral Exploration Incentive JMEI with 100m allocated over a four year period This important program designed to stimulate greeenfelds e xploration has seen the frst two rounds of the program oversubscribed and 69 companies receive allocations Our success is very much a consequence of the efort and contribution of our Members and I thank all our members for their continued engagement and support Finally I must thank our dedicated President Will R obinson and the AMEC Council for their support as well as the wonderful team at AMEC Graham Neil Denyse Anne Marie L uk e Ruth L es L ucy and Kristy Their hard work and commitment to the Association and our members is a credit to the industry W arren P earce Chief Ex ecutive Ofcer