PYX Resources dual lists in London as zircon supply crunch intensifies

Australia-based PYX Resources (NSX: PYX; LSE: PYX) has taken up a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange to give more investors access to the zircon market while providing the company more firepower with which to advance its development strategy. 

The dual listing comes at a time when the zircon market telescoped with the June closure of Rio Tinto’s (ASX: RIO; NYSE: RIO; LSE RIO) Richards Bay Minerals project in the zircon market tightens with the recent closure of the in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which was shut down in late June following the murder of the top manager. The project has since been restarted.

On admission to the LSE, the company had a market capitalization of about £349.2 million (US$468.81 million).

PYX’s high-quality zircon is found in electronics, semiconductors, solar and fuel cells, ceramics, fibre optics and energy power generation, which could help play a role in the transition to net-zero.

According to public information, the company is the second-largest zircon producer globally, with competitors including Rio and Kenmare Resources (LSE: KMR).

PYX operates the Mandiri project, a 2,032 hectares licenced concession in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. It produces mineral sands products and premium zircon. The company also owns the Tisma project, a fully licenced mineral sands asset comprising 1,500 hectares, also located in Central Kalimantan province.

The Mandiri project produced 7,000 tonnes of zircon in 2020, while the Tisma project is expected to make an equal amount of zircon per annum when production starts next year.

Due to tightening supply, PYX has announced four price increases since January – rising by US$910 per tonne to US$2,305/t in September.

As part of the IPO, PYX did not sell a particular number of shares. Instead, there is open liquidity. Its share price in Australia lifted three-fold in the past year.

According to Mordor Intelligence, the global zirconium market was estimated to be worth US$1.8 billion in 2020, with an expected CAGR for 2021 to 2026 of over 5%.

VSA Capital acted as financial adviser and broker on the dual listing.

PYX’s LSE-traded equity gained nearly 8% on the first day of trading at 101.06p.