5 things we learned at AME Roundup 2025: copper is golden, electrification is tricky and Trump tariffs loom

The Association for Mineral Exploration’s annual event—AME Roundup, held each year at the Vancouver Convention Centre—brings together thousands of geoscientists, prospectors, financiers, investors, suppliers, governments and Indigenous partners from around the world and holds seminars, talks and events to educate everyone on the state of the mining industry.

Due to world events (looks directly down south), this year’s conference had a decidedly political flavour. Here are five takeaways we took home from this year’s AME Roundup.

The conference hit a 10-year attendance record, and the floor was buzzing

According to organizers, the conference saw over 6,630 attendees from 34 countries. The exhibition floor, where companies could showcase their innovations, was incredibly active, and the presentations were packed. The year’s theme, “Securing Our Future” felt especially relevant as the annual Discovery Day—which welcomes families to experience mineral exploration and mining with fun, hands-on, interactive displays—saw attendance double from last year to over 2,400 people.

The upcoming changes to the Mineral Tenure Act are a hot topic

There was a heavy focus on Indigenous culture throughout the conference, highlighted by the Indigenous Marketplace that ran through the entire conference in which vendors showcased their goods. Inside the halls, though, there was some tension, particularly with the coming changes (which were court-ordered) to the Mineral Tenure Act in March that are set to require miners to have further consultation with First Nations.

Conservative Party of BC leader John Rustad, who spoke near the beginning of the conference, had concerns, saying he thought it would significantly impact exploration in the province. AME CEO Keerit Jutla tried to walk the line on the issue but clearly also has his concerns about the changes.

Electrification of mines is an ongoing adventure

As Tracy Lidiatt, manager, mining innovation at Foresight Canada said in her presentation, the electrification of mines is proving to be a challenge across the country. “Electrification is not a one-size-fits-all solution,” she said, noting that it’s much harder to electrify existing mines than it is to build electrification into new ones. But still, with B.C. especially having to jump through many hoops to get new mines greenlit, the extra upfront expenses of electrification are just another barrier that companies will have to hurdle.

Copper seems stable; lithium not so much

Speaking of electrification, the major lithium boom (thanks to the metal’s use in electric car batteries) in 2023 has given way to a slump ever since. Attendees heard that lithium’s significant prices are predicted to hit about one quarter of what they were two years ago , due mostly to global uncertainty, oversupply and slow demand.

On the other hand, copper has been one of the more consistent metals of late and experts expect that trend to continue.

David Eby acknowledges challenges, tries to look ahead

Premier Eby spoke on the last day of Roundup and did a sit-down with AME president Jutla after his opening remarks.

The premier (who was wearing socks with the periodic table symbols of minerals on them) was honest about the challenges the mining sector is facing right now. “It’s not lost on me that this is a complex place to do business,” he said, pledging to work toward getting the dozen-plus mines currently in the permitting process to action.

In regard to the Mineral Tenure Act changes, Eby noted that it’s an “incredibly sensitive time” and that the framework of the agreement tries to both respect the court decision and minimize the impact it will have on business. On that front, Eby argued that the government has “come as far as possible” to achieving those goals.

Of course, the looming spectre of tariffs imposed by the U.S. was a major topic as well. On that, Eby conceded that the Americans are massive users of Canadian-mined metals, but he made the case that there are opportunities with partners like South Korea and Japan. He also pointed out that, because China banned the export of germanium into the U.S., the latter has to get the metal from Canada via B.C.-based Teck Resources.

“It’s a bizarre thing,” Eby said. “One week, the U.S. Department of Defense can be looking to invest, and the following week you get the threat of tariffs. [We] can’t make any sense of the threat.”