MINExpo International, one of the world’s largest mining conventions held every four years in Las Vegas, Nevada, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 virus.

The convention, originally to be held from Sept. 28 to Sept. 30, has been rescheduled for September 2021, to be held Las Vegas if possible. In 2016, the convention featured 1,953 companies exhibiting both inside and outside the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“The National Mining Association (NMA), the MINExpo International 2020 sponsor, has made it its highest priority the health, well-being and safety of exhibitors, attendees, stakeholders and their respective families and colleagues, as well as our event partners in Las Vegas,” the announcement posted on the MINExpo website read. “The advance of COVID-19 around the world has made holding the show in September 2020 impracticable under the circumstances.”

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COVID-19 has made the prospect of holding in-person conventions and events next to impossible, with other mining conventions – such as the CIM2020 Convention which was to be held in Vancouver at the beginning of May – have been outright cancelled due to the pandemic. The continued border shutdown between the United States and Canada has also complicated matters for Canadian companies who had planned to exhibit at MINExpo.

Attendees of the convention will have their registration and award luncheon tickets refunded. Exhibitors will have their spaces in the floorplan carried over to the new date in 2021. According to the announcement, NMA will be providing further details in the coming weeks.