London investors once saw Anglo American as an anchor of the FTSE 100. Now the miner’s planned US$50 billion (C$67 billion) “merger of equals” with Vancouver-based Teck Resources feels like another step in the City’s long drift away from big mining names.
Listing risk alarms investors
Ottawa has welcomed the copper-focused tie-up but wants more than a secondary listing. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is pressing Anglo to become legally Canadian, a shift that would move its corporate domicile from London to Vancouver and bring the enlarged Anglo Teck under Canadian regulation.
Anglo chief executive Duncan Wanblad has pushed back. “There is no way I am going to negotiate this in public,” Duncan Wanblad said when asked about redomiciling during a September interview. The stand-off matters because Ottawa can block the deal under the Investment Canada Act if it decides the economic benefits are too thin.
For UK investors, the risks look one-sided. Anglo says it will keep its primary London listing, yet the global headquarters, senior leadership team and most corporate roles would move to Canada. Shareholders fear history will repeat itself; BHP shifted its own primary listing to Sydney in 2022 and cut back London staff. Anglo’s circular flags US$60 million (C$80 million) in head-office savings, and market chatter suggests most of that will come out of the City. A smaller London footprint also means less tax for His Majesty’s Treasury and weaker local supply chains.
Jobs and taxes at stake
Analysts warn that the UK could lose influence over a champion miner just as critical-minerals policy gains urgency. Russ Mould at AJ Bell captured the mood: “Anglo American has turned from prey to predator. The deal to buy Teck Resources, if it completes, means Anglo has not only pulled itself out of a hole, but also sends a message to mining peers that it is not a pushover.” The bravado masks a tougher reality for British workers. Anglo already plans to sell non-core assets, including its historic De Beers stake, to fund growth in Chilean copper. Layering in Teck’s Quebrada Blanca expansion amplifies that cash call and could accelerate job cuts elsewhere.
Ottawa’s leverage is strong. When Glencore bought Teck’s coal arm in 2024, the federal cabinet imposed decade-long commitments on board composition, senior staffing and capital spending. Similar undertakings on Anglo Teck would fix key functions in Vancouver and pull decision-making further from London.
Nigel Rosser, writing in the Evening Standard, notes a wider credibility gap. Chilean regulators continue to probe environmental impacts at Collahuasi and Quebrada Blanca, and Anglo has missed recent copper-output targets. Those uncertainties make the promised US$800 million (C$1.1 billion) of annual synergies look optimistic, especially without a clear governance structure.
What next for the City?
Shareholders vote next month. Passing the resolution needs 75 percent support, a high bar if proxy advisers recommend abstention. Canadian pressure could sway fence-sitters; any fresh concessions on domicile or board seats may dilute the value of Anglo’s London listing.
If the deal collapses, UK mining faces other threats. Rio Tinto backers have urged a counter-bid for Teck, and Glencore still circles. Either outcome could leave Anglo spending months on defence instead of fixing operational problems.
For now, investors see more red flags than upside. The lure of a bigger copper pipeline is real, but so are the costs of watching another flagship drift across the Atlantic. Unless Ottawa eases its stance or Anglo offers stronger UK safeguards, City scepticism will remain well founded.