Canadian miners weigh Australian dual listings

Canadian mining companies are exploring dual listings on the Australian Stock Exchange amid weak domestic liquidity, according to analysts and companies.  

Since 2018, there have been a few dual listings on the ASX but the trend renewed after NexGen Energy (TSX: NXE) added an Australian listing in 2021. Capstone Copper’s (TSX: CS) ASX listing in February last year seems to have opened the door for Marimaca Copper (TSX: MARI), Pampa Metals (CSE: PM), Robex Resources (TSX: RBX) and Orezone Gold (TSX: ORE) to start the listing process.  

“Resources companies have really been struggling to attract capital in Canada,” BDO deal advisory partner Adam Myers told the February RIU Explorers Conference in Perth. “The ASX is certainly a great place to be exposed to this market.”  

At the end of last year, the total market capitalization of mining and metals companies listed on the ASX was larger than the TSX and TSXV, with about $616 billion vs $606 billion, according to figures from TSX parent TMX Group. However, Toronto raised $10.4 billion during the year compared with $7.2 billion in Sydney, and had nearly double the number of new mining listings at 41.  

The ASX is taking advantage of tough market conditions in Canada and holding roadshows to draw in new companies, according to Sasha Conoplia, ASX senior manager for listings. He told sister publication Mining.com that Canadian interest in dual listings is on the rise.  

 ”The resources sector is the largest on ASX by number of listings and that brings a sophisticated Australian and global institutional and retail investor base that can provide capital and liquidity,” Conoplia said.  

Top two

Investors may be attracted to heavyweights such as BHP (NYSE, LSE, ASX: BHP), the world’s largest miner by market capitalization with about A$200 billion (C$180 billion) Sydney. Second place Rio Tinto (NYSE, LSE, ASX: RIO) at A$170 billion has said it will let its Australian shareholders vote on an independent review of its dual-listing status.  

“The Australian capital markets ecosystem for resources is deep and well developed with strong research coverage and global capital support,” BDO’s Myers said. “For companies listing on ASX the market offers competitive valuations across sectors, earlier index inclusion than other global peers and access to global institutional capital.”  

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has also suffered an exodus, with Glencore (LSE: GLEN) CEO Gary Nagle suggesting the company may leave the LSE – though not necessarily for Australia.  Glencore – the LSE’s second-largest mining company with a market value of about £45 billion (C$83.5 billion) – is one of the 171 metals and mining companies listed on the exchange. LSE-listed miners collectively account for about 17% of the industry’s global market capitalization, or about £121 billion.  

Ecuador-focused SolGold (LSE: SOLG) is considering an ASX listing while Greatland Gold (LSE: GGP) is targeting a cross-listing in the second quarter.   

“As a significant Australian gold-copper producer,” Greatland CEO Shaun Day said, “the ASX listing is intended to provide benefits including an enhanced capital markets profile and increased institutional ownership and index participation.”   

Between 2020 and 2024, some 15 mining companies delisted from the LSE or moved their primary listings to other exchanges, such as those in Australia, the U.S. or Canada, seeking higher valuations and more favourable regulatory environments. 

Copper opportunity

Capstone began trading in Sydney last year. It launched with two million Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) depositary interests (CDIs). These instruments give investors the same benefits as owning shares. Since then, the number of CDIs has grown to 185.1 million by the end of February, bolstered by an April 2024 block trade by New York-based private equity firm Orion Resource Partners.  

Michael Slifirski, the director of investor relations for Capstone in Asia Pacific, told Mining.com that the lack of strong copper companies on the ASX is a chance for growth. This situation follows BHP’s purchase of OZ Minerals in 2023.  

Unlike SSR Mining (TSX: SSR), which announced early this month that it was delisting from the ASX due to low liquidity, Capstone has been increasing the proportion of trading in Australia.  Slifirski says that a successful listing requires commitment.  

“It’s not a case of list and investors will buy – far from it,” he said. “The investment case has to be compelling and relevant in quality and scale relative to existing ASX investment opportunities and then needs to be well supported by a committed and credible team that wants it to work.”    

In late January, Marimaca Copper filed a prospectus for an ASX listing and were due to join the exchange in March. Marimaca CEO Hayden Locke, from Australia, stressed the need for a larger capital pool. This is crucial as the company approaches a construction decision in Chile.  

“As we move closer to a construction decision for the Marimaca oxide deposit, and continue our aggressive exploration plans, a broader pool of capital will become increasingly important to our company,” Locke said.  

In February, Vancouver-based Pampa Metals said it would buy Rugby Resources (TSXV: RUG). The plan is to list the new company on the ASX. Pampa investor relations advisor Jordan Webster noted that its Australian CEO, Joseph van den Elsen, knows the local capital market well.  

“Since he took over the company, we believe liquidity in Canada hasn’t been great, while the Australian market has remained much stronger,” Webster said.  

“We also believe Pampa can stand out on the ASX as a unique story – two discovered high-grade porphyries in South America, which is rare for a junior explorer. Canada is already saturated with South American copper explorers, so we’re confident we will see better visibility and investor engagement in Australia.”  

African miners  

The ASX, already home to West Africa-focused gold producers Perseus Mining (ASX: PRU) and West African Resources (ASX: WAF), may soon welcome two more.  

Orezone Gold is planning a secondary listing on the ASX. This move aims to support the growth of its Bomboré mine in Burkina Faso. The company hopes the listing will enhance liquidity and attract mining-focused funds restricted to ASX-listed issuers.  

Smaller gold company Robex Resources is planning to delist from the TSX entirely and migrate to the ASX. The company plans to leave Mali and aims to get its first gold from the Kiniero project in Guinea by year’s end. It likely wants to take advantage of the success of Predictive Discovery (ASX: PDI), which has the nearby Bankan deposit.    

Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Atlantic, an iron ore developer focused on Guinea, has chosen the ASX for its IPO. The company aims to raise up to A$300 million. Ivanhoe Atlantic CEO Bronwyn Barnes said the company considered various bourses.  

“Given the strong knowledge of the iron ore market on the ASX and the familiarity of Australia with African mining projects generally and Guinea in particular,” she said, “a listing on the ASX made sense for us.”  

• With files from Colin McClelland