The 37th Annual Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Conference wrapped August 19 at The Star Gold Coast. The Matrix Australia team returned with a full notebook of conversations and plenty to reflect on under this year’s theme, “Our Greatest Resource – Our People.”
Key Takeaways from QMIHSC 2026
- Safety culture remains as important as safety technology.
- Mining operations are focused on technology adoption and trust.
- Proximity awareness discussions have shifted from “if” to “how.”
- People remained the central theme throughout the event.
QMIHSC is a different kind of room than most industry events. Over four days, more than a thousand safety professionals, site leaders, and operators came together. Rather than focusing on equipment displays, attendees discussed what is working, what is not, and what it takes to keep people safe on Queensland mine sites. For a company that’s spent its history building safety technology for underground and surface operations, that kind of conversation is exactly why we show up.
A Conference Built on People, Not Just Product
Importantly, this year’s theme leaned into something the industry has been circling for a while: that safety technology only works if the culture around it does too.
Sessions covered workplace innovation, incident learnings, and the kind of transformation that happens when leadership and operators are pulling in the same direction — not just workshops on tools, but honest discussion about trust, communication, and what “safety excellence” looks like when it’s lived day to day rather than audited quarterly.
Additionally, the conference’s support for Miners’ Promise, which provides practical, emotional, and financial support to mining and resources families in times of crisis, was a reminder of why that theme matters. Safety isn’t an abstraction in this industry — it’s personal, and QMIHSC treats it that way.
What We Heard on the Gold Coast
Throughout the conference, our team spoke with safety managers, site leaders, and operators about the future of proximity awareness technology and mine site safety programs. A consistent theme emerged: many sites are no longer asking whether safety technology is available. Instead, they are evaluating which solutions fit their operations and how to introduce them in ways that build workforce confidence and adoption.
Industry Perspectives
“QMIHSC is one of the few places where the whole industry sits in the same room and talks openly about safety, not just showcases it,” said Pieter De Klerk, General Manager of Matrix Australia.
“What stood out to me this year is how much the conversation has matured. People aren’t asking if proximity awareness technology has a place on their site anymore, they’re asking how to build the trust and the process around it so it actually changes behaviour. That’s a harder conversation, and a much better one to be having.”
Thank You, Gold Coast
To everyone who stopped to talk, challenged our thinking, or shared what’s happening on your own sites — thank you. Conferences like QMIHSC are where the industry does its best thinking together, and this year was no exception.
We’ll see you at QMIHSC 2027.
QMIHSC is the Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Conference, an event where mining safety professionals, site leaders, and operators discuss safety practices, industry challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
The conference conversations indicated that sites are looking for technology that fits their operations and can be deployed in a way that people will trust and use.
Proximity awareness technology helps operators and workers identify potential hazards by increasing visibility around mobile equipment and restricted areas. As discussed at QMIHSC 2026, mining operations are increasingly focused not only on deploying safety technologies, but also on implementing them in ways that build workforce trust and support long-term adoption.