BlackRock World Mining Trust NAV rose by 5.1% in April, outperforming reference index

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BlackRock World Mining Trust plc (LON:BRWM) has announced its latest portfolio update.

For more information on the Blackrock World Mining Trust and how to access the opportunities presented by mining, please visit www.blackrock.com/uk/brwm

All information is at 30 April 2024 and unaudited.

Performance at month end with net income reinvested

	One	Three	One	Three	Five
	Month	Months	Year	Years	Years
Net asset value	5.1%	9.5%	-1.1%	15.7%	94.4%
Share price	13.0%	11.1%	-5.0%	11.0%	119.3%
MSCI ACWI Metals & Mining 30% Buffer 10/40 Index (Net)*	4.8%	11.5%	7.4%	18.2%	78.1%

* (Total return)Sources: BlackRock, MSCI ACWI Metals & Mining 30% Buffer 10/40 Index, Datastream

At month end

Net asset value (including income)¹:	596.86p
Net asset value (capital only):	588.60p
Share price:	584.00p
Discount to NAV²:	2.2%
Total assets:	£1,276.9m
Net yield³:	5.7%
Net gearing:	14.7%
Ordinary shares in issue:	191,183,036
Ordinary shares held in Treasury:	1,828,806
Ongoing charges⁴:	0.91%
Ongoing charges⁵:	0.81%

¹Includes net revenue of 8.26p.

² Discount to NAV including income.

³ Based on a first interim dividend of 5.50p per share declared on 18 April 2023, a second interim dividend of 5.50p per share declared on 24 August 2023, a third interim dividend of 5.50p per share declared on 11 October 2023 and a final dividend of 17.00p per share declared on 7 March 2024 with ex date 21 March 2024 and pay date 14 May 2024 in respect of the year ended 31 December 2023.

⁴ The Company’s ongoing charges are calculated as a percentage of average daily net assets and using the management fee and all other operating expenses, excluding finance costs, direct transaction costs, custody transaction charges, VAT recovered, taxation and certain other non-recurring items for the year ended 31 December 2023.

⁵The Company’s ongoing charges are calculated as a percentage of average daily gross assets and using the management fee and all other operating expenses, excluding finance costs, direct transaction costs, custody transaction charges, VAT recovered, taxation and certain other non-recurring items for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)

Global	64.8
United States	8.5
Canada	8.3
Latin America	8.3
Australasia	7.7
Other Africa	4.0
Indonesia	0.6
South Africa	0.1
Net Current Liabilities	-2.3
	—–
	100.0
	=====

Sector Analysis	Total Assets (%)

Diversified	35.9
Copper	25.9
Gold	17.7
Steel	7.9
Industrial Minerals	5.1
Aluminium	3.2
Iron Ore	2.3
Uranium	1.5
Platinum Group Metals	1.1
Nickel	1.1
Mining Services	0.5
Zinc	0.1
Net Current Liabilities	-2.3
	—–
	100.0
	=====

Ten largest investments

Company	Total Assets %

Glencore	8.2
BHP:
Equity	6.0
Royalty	1.5
Vale:
Equity	3.8
Debenture	2.5
Freeport-McMoRan	5.6
Anglo American	5.6
Rio Tinto	5.5
Newmont	4.5
Teck Resources	4.0
Agnico Eagle Mines	3.4
Nucor	3.2

Asset Analysis	Total Assets (%)
Equity	99.4
Bonds	1.5
Preferred Stock	0.9
Convertible Bonds	0.6
Option	-0.1
Net Current Liabilities	-2.3
	—–
	100.0
	=====

Commenting on the markets, Evy Hambro and Olivia Markham, representing the Investment Manager noted:

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Performance

The Company’s NAV rose by 5.1% in April, outperforming its reference index, the MSCI ACWI Metals and Mining 30% Buffer 10/40 Index (net return) which returned +4.8% (performance figures in GBP).

April was a positive month for the mining sector, outperforming broader equity markets which fell by 3.3% (in USD terms) as measured by the MSCI All Country World Index. Inflation proving stickier than expected and rising US interest rate expectations supported the outperformance of value sectors over growth ones.

Meanwhile, we saw strength almost across the board in mined commodity prices as Chinese economic data improved. For reference, the country’s manufacturing PMI came in above 50 for the second consecutive month. Iron ore had a particularly strong month, with the 62% fe. price rising by 15.8%. Elsewhere, base metals were buoyant with copper, nickel and zinc prices rising by 12.8%, 15.1% and 21.7% respectively. Gold and silver prices rose by 3.7% and 6.5% respectively, appearing to benefit from ‘safe-haven’ demand.

Turning to the companies, we saw high profile M&A activity with BHP proposing a $39bn takeover of fellow diversified miner Anglo American. Anglo American rejected the offer, but the market expectation is that BHP may improve its offer or that other buyers may emerge. This proposal supports our view that existing copper assets are currently trading significantly below replacement costs in the listed market, making them attractive to peers and strategic buyers.

Strategy and Outlook

China has re-opened but with less impact than had been expected. Uncertainty persists around China’s commodity demand, but we are seeing the Chinese administration announce financial support incrementally.

Longer term, we are excited by the structural demand growth for a range of mined commodities that will result from the low carbon transition. Meanwhile, commodity supply is likely to be constrained by the capital discipline of recent years, whilst inventories for many mined commodities are at historic lows. Mining companies have low levels of debt, continue to return capital to shareholders, but appear to be entering a higher capital expenditure phase.

We are seeing Brown to Green emerge as a key theme, where mining companies are focusing on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions intensity associated with their production. We expect to see a re-rating for the mining companies able to best navigate this and are playing this in the portfolio.

For more information on the Blackrock World Mining Trust and how to access the opportunities presented by mining, please visit www.blackrock.com/uk/brwm