Toronto-listed miners that have dual-listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in the last six years outnumbered ASX-listed miners that have dual-listed on Canadian boards three to one, according to an S&P Global Commodity Insights analysis.

Five ASX-listed miners have dual-listed on Canadian bourses since 2018, according to TMX Group Ltd., which owns both the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V). That compares with 15 Toronto-listed metals and mining companies that dual-listed on the Australian exchange in the same period, according to the ASX.

"We have seen a noticeable uptick in interest and engagement from Canadian-listed entities about dual-listing on ASX. There are a number currently in the pipeline," ASX listings manager Kate Galpin told Commodity Insights, citing Capstone Copper Corp. which is due to hit the ASX on Feb. 2.

More stringent securities regulation and less investment by big funds in Canada as well as a concentration of mining investors Down Under may have given Australia an edge in attracting cash and backing mining equities, experts said.

"Canada is the mining capital of the world," Cam Currie, a senior investment adviser at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management and head of the Currie Metals & Mining Group, told the Mineral Exploration Roundup conference in Vancouver on Jan. 23. "But what we're seeing right now is [a] transition over to Australia, because they have these ... innovation funds that invest in the resource industry."

BDO corporate finance partner Adam Myers told Commodity Insights that the TSX "isn't showing as much love as the Australian market ... which is re-emerging as the early-stage resources hot spot."

Both exchanges saw metals and mining IPOs fall in 2023: The ASX had 24, its lowest since 2020; the TSX had a single listing, Lithium Royalty Corp.; and the TSX-V had none, an analysis of S&P Global Market Intelligence data showed.

Challenges for Canadian listings

Canada's generous flow-through share system — which enables Canadian investors to get a tax deduction for financing dollars aimed at exploration in the country — has seen "an incredible amount of Australian dollars coming in and investing in the Canadian space," Kendra Johnston, managing director at investment fund manager PearTree Canada, told Commodity Insights.

The five ASX-listed miners that dual-listed on Toronto exchanges include copper miner Hot Chili Ltd., copper-gold explorer Xanadu Mines Ltd. and vertically integrated cobalt developer Jervois Global Ltd., which listed on the TSX-V in 2021, 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Maintaining activity on Canadian exchanges has proven a challenge for some miners already trading in the ASX. Perth-based Tempus Resources Ltd. had also dual-listed on the TSX-V in December 2020 but delisted from the Canadian exchange in December 2023 citing "minimal trading activity," which "no longer justifies the expense and administrative requirements associated with maintaining its dual listing."

Some Canadian miners have also delisted from Toronto boards to focus on exchanges Down Under. Of the TSX-V miners that have sought dual-listing on the ASX since 2018, Black Dragon Gold Corp. and Toubani Resources Ltd. have since delisted from the Canadian exchange. Toubani said in April 2023 that its overall liquidity would benefit from a "centralized focus" on the ASX.

TSX-listed major gold miner Newmont Corp. entered the ASX following its merger in 2023 with Australia's Newcrest Mining Ltd., which has since delisted from the TSX.

Government support, bigger pool sustain miners listed Down Under

While Canada has generous tax incentives, Australia appears to back its juniors through easier financing rules and broader market participation, giving them an edge over their Canadian counterparts, especially in the past few years, according to Peter Grosskopf, CEO of SCP Resource Finance LP.

Less onerous market rules over financings and the resale of stock help attract investors in Australia, the government of which also encourages pension funds, among others, to hold mining equities, Grosskopf, former CEO of Sprott Inc., told Commodity Insights.

"They do make it easier, and the TSX and American exchanges have very tough liquidity resale rules," Grosskopf said. "So investors that are getting involved with private placements have to hold stock, and legend stock, and show that they're not trading it in this market, or that market. In Australia, it's just a lot easier.

Grosskopf said government support has been one of the main factors creating a more robust market on the ASX. "It's mostly driven by flows and the availability of larger investors to be brought into financings; and it is a more liquid, more highly-valued and more broadly-followed market," Grosskopf said.

The ASX has the world's fifth-largest pension pool with assets of A$3.5 trillion, which is forecast to exceed A$9 trillion in the next 20 years, Galpin said.

Currie said Canadian markets are heavily influenced by US trends, such as a money flows moving into technology stocks, while Australia's equity market focuses more on mining.

"They don't have the distraction of US equity markets across the border," Currie said.