Source : THE AGE NEWS
By James Pearson
Triple-listed Macarthur Minerals is packing its bags and heading home after pulling the pin on its Canadian Venture Exchange and OTC market listings to consolidate its investor base squarely on the tier one Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
The strategic pivot has been brought about as Macarthur refocusses on tighter cost controls and a stronger alignment with its predominantly Australian shareholder base.
Triple-listed Macarthur Minerals is heading home to go all-in on the Australian Stock Exchange after deciding to pull the pin on its Canadian Venture Exchange listing.
In a decision authorised by its board of directors, the iron ore explorer says its shares will be delisted from the TSX-V and OTC boards at the close of business on May 16 ending its North American triple-listing experiment.
The company pointed to minimal trading activity in Canada and the United States, saying there was little justification for the ongoing cost and compliance burden of maintaining listings in the jurisdictions.
Instead, Macarthur is going all-in on its ASX listing, which it says offers sufficient liquidity for investors and a more direct path to capital markets for its Western Australia iron ore projects.
The decision to pare back its listing obligations will also remove the opportunity for investors to arbitrage differing prices for the same shares on separate markets. This can be a bonus during periods of high interest in small-cap explorers as it creates volume and promotes price discovery. But in quieter times, it can also unduly amplify share price movements.
Macarthur expects the move will streamline its operations and help refocus management’s time on the company’s flagship Lake Giles iron project in WA’s Yilgarn region. The project has a more than 1.2 billion tonnes magnetite resource, including a hefty 272 million tonnes (Mt) of defined reserves.
The company also owns the approved and neighbouring Ularring hematite deposit, which includes 54.5Mt grading 47.2 per cent iron in indicated resources and 26Mt at 45.4 per cent iron in the inferred category. Additionally, the company holds 24 square kilometres of iron exploration tenements in the Pilbara region
Macarthur says its overseas delisting won’t affect the company’s ability to trade on the ASX and its shares will remain active under the ticker MIO. Canadian and US investors will have to do some housekeeping to shift their holdings to the Australian register.
With resource nationalism rising, cost discipline in sharp focus and ASX-listed critical minerals developers attracting growing institutional backing, Macarthur’s delisting looks less like a retreat and more like a well-timed rebalancing.
And with nearly 1.35 billion tonnes of iron ore in the ground including a globally significant magnetite resource, the company appears intent on proving that sometimes, less really is more.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
