Mining giant Glencore has announced it plans to list its stock on the ASX, targeting admission in October 2026.

In its half-year results, the major copper and coal producer said the plan had followed a review of opportunities to broaden its investor base and enhance trading liquidity.  

The firm is currently listed on the London Stock Exchange and is the third-largest miner on the FTSE 100 behind BHP and Rio Tinto. Shares in Glencore have risen 100 per cent over the past year to 5 August versus returns of 18 per cent by the FTSE 100.   

Choosing the ASX, the company pointed to Australia’s long-term investment capital via superannuation and its strength in resources. 

“Australia is home to one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing pools of long-term investment capital, with A$4.4 trillion in pension assets expected to grow to approximately A$12.4 trillion by 2045. The market also offers access to a highly sophisticated investor base with deep expertise in the global resources sector,” Glencore wrote. 

Having previously said its LSE shares were undervalued in the UK, Glencore is looking to launch its ASX secondary listing via CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs). Similar to American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), CDIs let local investors buy and sell foreign shares through the standard electronic settlement system. 

The company said that an Australian listing is expected to strengthen Glencore’s profile in one of its most important operating jurisdictions, while broadening its shareholder base and improving corporate financial flexibility.  

Glencore chief executive, Gary Nagle, added that mechanical inclusion in the ASX 200 would be achievable for the company within 12 months, once $1.5 billion of stock is held locally.  

While Glencore’s global market cap would rank it among the ASX top 20, index treatment follows the Australian-held float — so its local weighting will build gradually rather than displacing other companies immediately. 

Local impact 

For Australian investors, Glencore pitched the move as an opportunity for increased access to diversified copper exposure, “at a time when local investment opportunities have diminished following industry consolidation and M&A activity in recent years.” 

Several major Australian investors including AustralianSuper and fund managers like Tribeca have been urging Glencore to list on the local exchange for some time. 

The move also comes after Rio Tinto and Glencore called off their proposed roughly $300 billion merger in February this year over pricing disagreements, a deal that would have created the world’s largest mining company. 

The now-abandoned deal was the largest in the current copper M&A wave, drawing widespread attention as it would have enabled Rio to expand its copper portfolio and capitalise on surging demand for the metal, fuelled by the energy transition and the AI boom. 

Meanwhile, despite BHP and Rio still having major iron ore businesses, both companies have also been leaning further into copper. 

Speaking to Investor Daily, ETF Shares chief investment officer, David Tuckwell, said the energy transition metal is the company’s clear growth story. 

“It’s Glencore’s largest industrial earnings driver at roughly a third of group EBITDA…with production targeted to roughly double to 1.6Mt by 2035, and it backs ASX juniors like Hot Chili, where it’s the largest shareholder with an offtake over the Costa Fuego project,” Tuckwell said. 

That said, he noted that Glencore remains far more wedded to coal than BHP and Rio Tinto, which will deter carbon-conscious Australian investors.  

As a secondary listing of a UK-domiciled company, Tuckwell added that Glencore’s CDIs also won’t carry franking credits — something some local fund managers flag, alongside its thermal coal exposure, as a drag on demand.  

However, he said the prize for Glencore is the valuation uplift it’s after, since the Australian market still prices resources pragmatically. 

“[This] is especially useful given many European ESG-mandated pension funds, particularly in Scandinavia, exclude it over thermal coal (and, for some, its 2022 bribery settlements). Established miners’ reliable dividends still suit income-focused super members.” 

He concluded that Glencore’s listing essentially consolidates the ASX’s claim as the world’s premier resources exchange, with few globally significant miners now sitting outside it. But as the ASX becomes an ever more materials-heavy index, this also reinforces its role as an income instrument — pushing Australians to look offshore for growth.