JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – On the eve of next week’s Junior Indaba, strong emphasis was this week placed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) being open and ready to welcome junior miners.

“We've got colleagues speaking at the Junior Indaba next week and at those engagements, we say to South African companies, the market is open, we’re ready to welcome you on to the JSE, and capital is available for quality opportunities,” JSE origination and deals head Sam Mokorosi spelt out to Mining Weekly following this week’s dual JSE listing of London AIM-listed Shuka Minerals. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Newly listed Shuka has a coal project in Tanzania, and is finalising the purchase of a lead, zinc, silver and vanadium mine in Zambia.

“We have a long-standing dual listing framework on the JSE for international companies that have a premier exchange listing overseas, to do a list here.

“What that does is give access to a trillion-dollar investor base in South Africa that is looking for quality assets, quality businesses to invest in, be they large mega caps, be they smaller AltX-listed companies that are looking for upside growth. South African investors are hungry for good quality assets.

“We have a good pipeline. There's another listing happening in June, and one that's been promised in September, and some of the folks that attended this morning's listing are also promising us one more inward listing.

“The momentum is looking strong. We had a really great 2024 with the likes of We Buy Cars and Boxer and Cilo Cybin listing, so we're looking forward to maintaining that momentum,” said Mokorosi.

“We are very supportive of mining. Our roots as the Johannesburg Stock Exchange come from the Gold Rush in the late 1800s, which is the time that the JSE was formed, and so we’re excited to see junior miners come to the market to access capital.

“I think dual listing really helps. If you look at a company like Orion Minerals, they were able to use instruments in Australia, because they're listed there, to raise capital from investors in South Africa, so you can see those kinds of synergies cross-border in terms of access to capital, and that's what dual listings allow companies like Shuka to achieve,” Mokorosi added.

The JSE is currently ranked in the Top 20 largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalisation, and is the largest stock exchange in Africa, having been in operation for 137 years.

Mining Weekly: Why is the AltX attractive?

Mokorosi: The AltX is really our board for junior miners, for smaller companies. The entry requirements are a bit lower than the main board. The ongoing obligations are a bit softer, and really what we're saying is, without reducing investor protections, we want our listing rules and requirements to be fit for purpose. A big trillion-rand company must have higher corporate governance requirements than a company that's R20-million, R30-million, R50-million in market capitalisation, and so the AltX is fit for purpose for your smaller listed companies. We've been really enthralled by the support that we're getting from the London market. We've had a couple of inward listings from London recently, including Supermarket Income REIT, Primary Health Properties, Assura plc, so there seems to be a good theme in terms of properties and junior miners inward listing from London. So, part of our exercise to attract listings is spending a lot of time there in the markets, speaking to market participants and making sure that the good story of our deep capital markets is well known. However, we are also very active in the South African market. Our engagements with the ecosystem are ongoing.

For explorers, developers and investors, the eleventh Junior Indaba is taking place in Johannesburg next Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27 and 28.

Interestingly, the speaker at the top of the list of 40 speakers sent to Mining Weekly is Niël Pretorius, the CEO of DRDGOLD, a company which on April 25 celebrated the 130th anniversary of its uninterrupted listing on the JSE, whose primary markets equity origination manager Patrycja Kula-Verster is also down to address the event.