Aug 2, 2026 – 12.00pmThe one word guaranteed to exasperate Jim Walker is “skimpies”. The boss of Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s Diggers and Dealers conference says the days of debauchery in mining’s Wild West are specks in the rearview mirror, and the tedious trope about miners’ encounters with scantily clad barmaids in the city’s pubs is unwarranted and outdated.For many of its 30-plus years, the annual gabfest was widely regarded primarily as an industry piss-up, with the secondary benefit of placing mining in front of east coast investors and capital markets players. A place of business and pleasure, but not necessarily in that order.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Mark WembridgeResources reporterMark Wembridge covers resource companies for The Australian Financial Review, based in Perth. He formerly worked for the Financial Times in London and Hong Kong.Fetching latest articles
Kalgoorlie’s mining gabfest reckons it has grown up. A new home helps
Diggers and Dealers has earned a colourful reputation over the years, but a permanent location and a more professional approach have changed its outlook.
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