Copper 360, a South African red metal producer, today listed on the JSE, the second listing for Africa’s largest stock exchange this year amid an economic meltdown that has constrained economic activity and company growth.

Copper 360 owns three subsidiaries including SHIP Copper Company, Cape Copper Oxide and The Okiep Copper Company, offering JSE investors the bourse’s only pure copper play. The group was birthed from the combination of SHIP Copper Company and Big Tree Copper Company. CEO Jan Nelson said the founders have de-risked the business for future shareholders after putting in most of the R180 million rand it took to build a plant in the Northern Cape.

“We are building South Africa’s next copper giant,’’ Nelson said at the listing ceremony. “We’re building two processing plants and we’re going to open up one of the copper mines.”

The share price closed at 5 rand, a 5.2% percent gain on its opening price of R4.75 per share. Volumes were 286,519, according to data from Sharenet.

Copper 360’s listing follows food producer Premier Group’s addition a month ago. That pushes the JSE’s overall market capitalisation to R22.8 trillion, among the 20 largest stock exchanges in the world.

JSE Head of Origination Sam Mokorosi said the exchange was excited to have attracted a miner of one of the so-called green metals, crucial in the electrification and sustainable energy space. The miner listed on Altx, the JSE platform launched in 2003 to catalyse the growth of small and medium size businesses.

Chair Shirley Hayes says the company’s cluster mining model offers investors the potential for long-term returns.

In addition to processing existing mine dumps, Copper 360 holds more than 19 000 hectares with twelve ore bodies including Rietberg, Jubilee, Homeep, Klondike, Wheal Julia North, Whyte’s West, Koeëlkop, Hoogkraal and Waaihoek.