Diggers chairman Jim Walker revealed yesterday that the 31^st edition of the Kalgoorlie event had attracted a record 2700 delegates, of which 22% were female.

Investors were back in large numbers for the first time since 2019, which had miners rolling out the red carpets to their operations.

IGO, Gold Road Resources, Northern Star Resources, 29Metals, Bellevue Gold, Liontown Resources, Evolution Mining, Global Lithium Resources and Alchemy Resources were among the companies offering investors the chance to visit mines and exploration projects.

Ramelius Resources was forced to cancel its site visit for a second year running due to the condition of the runway at the Penny mine following wet weather.

Red 5 managed to officially open its King of the Hills operation but the plane from Leonora to Kalgoorlie was delayed due to a mechanical issue.

Come Monday morning, the marquee was packed and the mood was surprisingly jubilant, despite a softening in market conditions and commodity prices over the past two months.

Accommodation

Beds were in short supply during the week, leaving some delegates with no option but to fly in and out on the same day.

For those who did manage to find a room, not all were on their best behaviour.

On Tuesday morning, Kalgoorlie Homes sent out an email advising of more than 10 calls advising of "extra guests staying in the home on lounges, extras in the backyard in swags, extras in bedrooms".

MNN is aware of one house where the iron was left on and another whose occupants threw a party.

IGO CEO Peter Bradford told reporters of a pleasant surprise the company got that wasn't discovered during due diligence in its takeover of Western Areas.

"Western Areas had some permanent bookings at the Rydges and we got those, right?"

Presentations

As well as the largest crowd ever, Diggers 2022 also featured the most presenters.

Keynote speaker Dr Dambisa Moyo presented virtually from her home in New York

The verdict on Moyo was that she was incredibly engaging and insightful but left delegates feeling slightly depressed given her sombre assessment of the world.

Moyo left plenty of time for questions but one delegate asked her about the décor in the background behind her.

Moyo took it in her stride, brushing off the awkward moment and referring back to economic matters.

Moyo's presentation made way for 69 company presenters (it was 70 but Roy Hill was a late withdrawal), kicked off by Genesis Minerals' Raleigh Finlayson, who was a hot topic heading into Diggers due to takeover talks with St Barbara.

Other highlights on day one included Galena Mining's Tony James, Evolution Mining's Jake Klein, Panoramic Resources' Victor Rajasooriar, while De Grey Mining's Glenn Jardine attracted a big crowd.

Melbourne-based Syrah Resources managing director Shaun Verner was forced to present virtually after Virgin Australia cancelled his flight to Kalgoorlie, while Fortescue Metals Group CEO Elizabeth Gaines had to present from Perth on Tuesday morning after severe weather in Perth saw flights cancelled.

Aside from Gaines' presentation on Tuesday, Develop's Bill Beament, IGO's Peter Bradford and Northern Star Resources' Stuart Tonkin were some of the bigger drawcards on Tuesday.

After jokingly referring to himself as the "Ash Barty of nickel" last month, a few of outgoing Mincor Resources boss David Southam's staff threatened to throw tennis balls at him during his final presentation on Tuesday afternoon.

Wednesday was all about critical minerals, with Lynas Rare Earths' Amanda Lacaze announcing a A$500 million expansion of the Mt Weld mine and Pilbara Minerals and Liontown Resources using their time to call for a lithium spot price.

General themes were ESG, inflation, supply chains, labour shortages and the importance of people.

Standing out from the crowd

One talking point was Tribeca Investment Partners' custom bus seen parked around town.

To beat the airlines and a lack of meeting areas at the conference, the Tribeca team drove the bus over from Sydney and used it to hold meetings.

Also dodging the airport was Galan Lithium managing director JP Vargas de la Vega, who drove his Tesla (with Galan personalised plates) from Perth to Kalgoorlie for the event and got permission to briefly park it out the front of the Goldfields Arts Centre for a photo.

Instead of a site visit, Goldfields juniors Auroch Minerals and Greenstone Resources teamed up to host a core yard event just 150m from the conference.

Guests heard from the companies and were able to look at drill core over food and drink.

Similarly, nickel explorer Estrella Resources opened a core "showroom" 500m from the conference to allow investors to check out recent sulphide hits from its Carr Boyd project outside Kalgoorlie.

Out and about

There were plenty of lunches and networking functions on during the week.

A Topdrill sundowner held on Sunday evening raised over A$170,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Monday night marked the inaugural WIMWA dinner, as well as the traditional welcome party held by main Diggers sponsor Canaccord Genuity, headlined once again by Peter Cook's band The Smoking Guns.

The Macquarie function was well-attended but almost rained out. The bank extended the bar tab after a heavy downpour meant no one could leave on-foot.

Tuesday morning saw rival breakfasts held by Gold Industry Group and Deloitte. Once a combined event, the two groups went head-to-head.

Tuesday evening featured a number of events, including cocktail functions hosted by PwC and Siren Gold.

The WA School of Mines Alumni also had about 500 people at their annual sundowner where Neil Warburton was presented with life membership.

On Wednesday morning, many delegates awoke to an email from organisers advising of a severe weather warning.

The 150-odd exhibitors were asked to be out of the marquee early and organisers warned the gala dinner would likely be cancelled and potentially replaced by a stand-up cocktail function due to the inability to fly catering staff and supplies in from Perth.

It meant local pubs and cafes were busier than usual on Wednesday.

While Raleigh Finlayson is yet to land a knockout blow in talks with St Barbara, Finlayson had a few rounds in the boxing ring with close mate, former UFC fighter Soa Palelei.

While Finlayson got a hit in, giving Palelei a blood nose, it came at the expense of his wrist, which was in a brace on Wednesday night.

The worst of the weather didn't materialise and by Wednesday afternoon, it was announced the dinner was back on.

It was a credit to forum director Suzanne Christie and her team for being able to think on their feet.

Jim Askew led a tribute to the late Ron Sayers, while Lacaze gave the toast to the mining sector.

Optimism was the theme of the night with Lacaze describing herself as a "glass half-full kinda chick" and GJ Stokes Memorial Award-winner Tim Goyder talked about the triumph of optimists over cynics.

The 1300-strong crowd were entertained by comedian Dave Thornton, while the addition of a DJ and dancefloor for the first time was welcomed by most.

Though it ironic seeing a packed floor dancing to Midnight Oil's anti-mining anthem ‘Blue Sky Mine'.

Quotes of the week

"We're a company that thinks big and aspires to join Newcrest in the ASX 100," Genesis' Raleigh Finlayson.

"It's not fun in the ASX 100 - it's a different audience," Develop's Bill Beament.

"Even I don't have balls big enough to operate in China," Neometals' Chris Reed.

"If you had asked me at the start of my professional career whether I thought I would still be talking about gender diversity in 2022, I would have thought that we would be living it by now," Fortescue Metals Group's Elizabeth Gaines.

"If we get to the point we need to be certified as decent and respectful then we've lost the plot," Evolution Mining's Jake Klein on whether there needs to be education courses on behavioural standards.

"After 25 years of executive duties I'm going to take some time off to spend with my wife, which I'm not sure she's looking forward to," Mincor Resources' David Southam.

"I feel a bit like an athlete who wants to perform in front of their home crowd, because today is all about Lynas in the Goldfields," Lynas' Amanda Lacaze.