In 1988 a group of forty or so people from mining companies and traders gathered at Kyatt's Hotel in Melbourne for a dinner to celebrate and swap dubious stories about the trading of Australia's base metals.The dinner was a success and repeated the following year. With the exception of a 2-year hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been held continuously, growing into an annual event attended by over four hundred members of the Australian and international base metals industries.Traditionally the dinner is held in November, on the day after The Melbourne Cup horse race.
Events surrounding the dinner have also gathered in popularity through the years. The dinner signals the the start of the traditional mating season for concentrate negotiations, and this has added to the international flavour of the event. Over the years Metal Events, Metal Bulletin and Metals Week have all held conferences or seminars during the week, and a range of companies organize specific functions to coincide with the LME Dinner Downunder.
