But despite the geopolitical clouds, the sector's critical metals and minerals output is under the spotlight, particularly for defence and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
When the war began in late February, Mr Trump led his attack on Iran after being convinced it would only go on for a short time, Australia's former ambassador to the United States said.
"Well, that was just stupid - it was wrong," Joe Hockey told the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie on Monday.
"And now we're seeing this weekend warrior stuff ... Trump says 'I'm going to bomb' on Friday after the market's closed.
"He says on Sunday - as he said yesterday - 'Oh no, we've brokered peace'.
"So it's got a long way to go."
Mr Hockey, who leads his own consultancy firm, reinforced the ongoing value of Australia's critical minerals to the world, alongside closer Australia-US co-operation.
"A lot of what you make goes into this ... and this is what Australia has only just worked out, and America's just worked out," he said during a fireside chat in front of 2600 mining executives and stakeholders.
The former Liberal federal treasurer pointed to the US's Virginia Class submarines, which are each made up of two tonnes of critical minerals and rare earths.
"And the Americans only realised four years ago that a lot of that's coming from China ... so now Americans have looked at its supply chains and said 'Who can we trust'," Mr Hockey said.
"And Australia steps up - that's why you guys are so important, that's why this industry is so important."
The boats are also coming to Australia as part of the AUKUS defence program.
Some of Australia's critical minerals vital to the technologies of the future include gallium and rare earths, used in advanced defence systems.
There is also nickel and cobalt, used in electric cars and for energy storage and tungsten, vanadium, and graphite, used in the aerospace sector and for special alloys and other grid infrastructure.
"We think many investors are yet to fully understand how much the huge investment in data centres (and) AI build-out will rely on mined inputs," Canaccord Genuity head of mining and energy research Reg Spencer told AAP.
In September 2025, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Mr Trump met face to face for the first time to sign a landmark framework agreement to speed up an $US8.5 billion pipeline of priority projects in Australia.
The 35th annual forum runs until Wednesday near the Northern Star Resources-owned gold Super Pit on the edge of Kalgoorlie.
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