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10 April 2026
From a single room to the global stage
One hundred years ago, a small group of enterprising mining operators and equipment manufacturers gathered in a single room. They didn’t have a massive convention centre or high-tech pavilions; they just had their operational challenges and a need to talk them through.
In that room, they forged relationships and created a model for collaboration that laid the foundation for the CIM CONNECT Expo as we know it today. What began as that small, focused gathering has grown into Canada’s largest exhibition of mining technology and services.
The experience of the floor
If you’ve been to the Expo before, you already know the atmosphere. If you haven’t, imagine this: you walk in, and within a few minutes, you’re in a conversation. Someone shows you a new piece of kit; someone else asks a question about an operational bottleneck.
The wheels in your head start turning. You start thinking about the problems these people might help you solve. Before you know it, you’ve formed a partnership.
Of course, it isn’t always that fast or that easy. This industry is anything but simple. But there is something remarkable about the fact that the simple act of solving problems together has not only survived for a century—it has thrived.
A century of scale
Today, the Expo connects every link in the mining value chain. The sheer scale of the 100th-anniversary floor reflects how far we've come since that first room:
- 895 booths: Representing more than 650 companies, from global titans like Caterpillar, Komatsu, Sandvik and Hexagon to major operators like Agnico Eagle and Teck.
- The Innovation Hub: A surge of emerging innovators in AI and automation showing how the next century of mining will be built on data.
- Global pavilions: Live demonstrations from regional hubs including Quebec, Northern Ontario, China, Australia and Arizona bringing international solutions to a local stage.
Shaping the future
From field-tested technologies to trusted partnerships, the CIM Expo remains the place where the industry drives progress. It’s a space where the legacy of 1926 meets the possibilities of 2026.
On Sunday, May 3 the Expo doors will open. Go take a walk through the aisles and strike up a conversation. You never know where it will go. After all, a single conversation a hundred years ago started all of this.
Ready to connect? Head over to the CIM CONNECT website to view the full exhibitor map and plan your route through this 100th-anniversary exhibition.
AI Use Disclosure
This article was developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence to structure the narrative. CIM staff refined the linguistic flow and provided, verified and approved historical facts, technical details and organizational data.
