Australia's contribution to the global boom in artificial intelligence will be front and centre when thousands of mining executives gather near the rim of one of the world's most remote gold mines.
Fuel costs are also likely to be on the agenda at the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in the outback town of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, after the federal government on Sunday let excise relief lapse, raising costs for the sector.
Australia's former ambassador to the US, Joe Hockey, will headline the first day of the forum on Monday, when he's expected to discuss geopolitics and the mining industry, given the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran.
Mr Hockey, who now leads his own consultancy firm, is likely to reinforce the ongoing value of critical minerals to defence supply chains and the AI sector, alongside closer Australia-US co-operation, when he addresses up to 2600 company executives.
Delegates attending the 35th annual forum, which runs until Wednesday near the Northern Star Resources-owned gold Super Pit on the edge of the city, are keen to hear a fresh perspective.
"I expect he will give delegates plenty to consider and provide a strong opening to the forum," Diggers chair and industry veteran Jim Walker told AAP.
Last year, Mr Hockey, a former Liberal treasurer told Australians there was a deal to be done with US President Donald Trump on critical mineral resources.
Months later, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Mr Trump met face to face for the first time to sign a landmark framework agreement to speed up an $US8.5 billion pipeline of priority projects in Australia.
The aim was to secure supply chains for minerals critical to the defence, clean energy, manufacturing and AI infrastructure sectors.
Australia is able to supply 35 of the 50 minerals deemed critical to the US.
These included gallium and rare earths, used in advanced defence systems; nickel and cobalt, used in electric cars and for energy storage; and tungsten, vanadium, and graphite, used in the aerospace sector and for special alloys and other grid infrastructure.
"We think many investors are yet to fully understand how much the huge investment in data centres (and) AI build out will rely on mined inputs," Canaccord Genuity head of mining and energy research Reg Spencer told AAP.
"This build out will require huge amounts of aluminium for energy transmission; copper, gold, tantalum and tungsten for semiconductors; and rare earths for cooling systems and drives."
There's also opportunities for producers of lithium, uranium and rare earths, also used in energy generation and storage.
Mr Hockey could also touch on the recent US tariff action on Australian imports as well as supply chain upsets, particularly for crude oil, sparked by the Middle East conflict.
Late in July, Mr Trump announced a new 12.5 per cent tariff, up from 10 per cent, on Australian exports to the US except for key products previously made exempt including beef, gold and copper.
Meanwhile, local mining executives will be pondering the implications of the Labor government's decision to let fuel excise relief, sparked by a big jump in fuel prices on the back of the US-Iran conflict, lapse.
In April, it halved the fuel excise for three months to offset rising petrol and diesel prices, saving users up to 32 cents a litre.
The relief was extended for a further month in July, at a reduced rate of 16 cents per litre, before lapsing on Sunday.
The outlook for gold will also be a key topic at the forum given its long history in Kalgoorlie, which is Australia's gold-mining capital.
"While gold prices have retreated from all-time highs, (the current price of around) $US4,000 an ounce is still very healthy," Mr Spencer noted.
