Atrico is a corporate advisory firm with a focus on mining technology firms.

Co-founder and managing director Ivan Gustavino was a founding shareholder of mining software player Surpac and has been involved in the space for 30 years.

"In my view, there has never been a better time to invest in METS [mining, equipment, technology and services]," Gustavino told METSStocks Sydney, part of the inaugural Future of Mining conference.

"It's the best time in the 30 years I've been around."

He said there was a heightened level of interest for change and disruption in mining, driven by the changing behaviours of big miners.

Gustavino said there had already been a lot of deal activity in METS and there'd be more to come.

"We know Micromine is on the market, we know MST is on the market," he said.

Gustavino believes there is around 1,000 up and coming METS companies, such as Newtrax and Motion Metrics.

"And that's probably the most exciting thing in terms of the investment opportunities," he said.

There's only around 20 specialist METS investors like Jolimont Global, leaving lots of room for others, Gustavino said.

Still, he admitted it's a tough space as an investor.

"It's a bit of a tragedy, but 25% of companies in the start-up phase are going to fail."

Gustavino recommended investing in "A-teams".

"You get goosebumps when you're around people that want to build something special," he said.

"For 20 years, I've been chasing that adrenalin rush.

"It's hard to find those people but when you do there's nothing more exciting."

Gustavino said investors needed to ensure they didn't get caught up in technology hype, but make sure the market for the opportunity was big enough, with the same two tips offered to start-ups.

"If you don't understand the scalability of the opportunity, you can't take an investor's money," he said.

*Kristie Batten is editor of www.miningnews.net