Miner and marketer Glencore is earning kudos for making a firm share buy-back commitment. A host of mining analysts heaped lavish praise on the London-, Hong Kong- and now also Johannesburg-listed company for putting the buy-back programme under starter’s orders and then providing daily updates on the number of shares transacted. The company, headed by South African-born CEO Ivan Glasenberg, has now returned more to the market than the $7.9-billion it raised at its initial public offering. “Finally, someone is listening to shareholders,” said Barclays mining analysts. “It’s refreshing,” said BMO Capital. Some quibbled at the amount, however, which had Glasenberg explaining that, with last month’s nigh-$700-million convertible bond buy-back plus the company’s latest dividend, the amount returned to shareholders was more like $2-billion.