BlackRock World Mining Trust Plc - Portfolio Update

BlackRock World Mining Trust Plc - Portfolio Update

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, November 16

The information contained in this release was correct as at 31 October 2023. Information on the Company's up to date net asset values can be found on the London Stock Exchange website at:

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-home.html.

BLACKROCK WORLD MINING TRUST PLC (LEI - LNFFPBEUZJBOSR6PW155)

All information is at 31 October 2023 and unaudited.

Performance at month end with net income reinvested
	One	Three	One	Three	Five
	Month	Months	Year	Years	Years
Net asset value	-6.7%	-12.1%	-1.7%	47.2%	82.6%
Share price	-8.6%	-13.2%	-5.8%	59.1%	111.5%
MSCI ACWI Metals & Mining 30% Buffer 10/40 Index (Net)*	-4.6%	-8.8%	5.6%	37.9%	60.0%
* (Total return) Sources: BlackRock, MSCI ACWI Metals & Mining 30% Buffer 10/40 Index, Datastream

At month end

Net asset value (including income)1:	561.40p
Net asset value (capital only):	543.73p
Share price:	540.00p
Discount to NAV2:	3.8%
Total assets:	£1,230.7m
Net yield3:	7.4%
Net gearing:	12.8%
Ordinary shares in issue:	191,183,036
Ordinary shares held in Treasury:	1,828,806
Ongoing charges4:	0.95%
Ongoing charges5:	0.84%

1 Includes net revenue of 17.67p.

2 Discount to NAV including income.

3 Based on a final dividend of 23.50p per share declared on 2 March 2023 in respect of the year ended 31 December 2022, a first and second interim dividend of 5.50p per share and a third interim dividend of 5.50p per share declared on 11 October 2023 with ex-date 23 November 2023 and pay date of 22 December 2023 in respect of the year ending 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 2022.

5 The 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 2022.

Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)
Global	65.0
Australasia	7.8
Latin America	7.7
Canada	7.2
United States	6.4
Other Africa	2.9
Indonesia	0.8
South Africa	0.2
Asia	0.2
Net Current Assets	1.8
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	100.0
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Sector Analysis	Total Assets (%)
Diversified	35.7
Copper	22.3
Gold	16.0
Steel	6.2
Industrial Minerals	5.7
Aluminium	3.1
Uranium	2.4
Iron Ore	2.4
Platinum Group Metals	1.8
Nickel	1.4
Mining Services	1.1
Zinc	0.1
Net Current Assets	1.8
	-----
	100.0
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Ten largest investments
Company	Total Assets %
BHP:
Equity	7.4
Royalty	1.6
Glencore	8.5
Vale:
Equity	4.9
Debenture	2.6
Rio Tinto	6.9
Freeport-McMoRan	4.4
Newmont	3.8
Barrick Gold	3.1
Wheaton Precious Metals	2.8
Teck Resources	2.6
Norsk Hydro ASA	2.5

Asset Analysis	Total Assets (%)
Equity	95.2
Bonds	2.3
Convertible Bonds	0.7
Net Current Assets	1.8
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	100.0
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Commenting on the markets, Evy Hambro and Olivia Markham, representing the Investment Manager noted:

Performance

The Company's NAV fell by 6.7% in October, underperforming its reference index, the MSCI ACWI Metals and Mining 30% Buffer 10/40 Index (net return), which fell by 4.6% (performance figures in GBP).

October was a challenging month for the mining sector. Increased geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and expectations for higher-for-longer interest rates appeared to contribute to a risk-off environment for equities. For reference, the MSCI ACWI TR Index fell by 3.0% during the month. Meanwhile, sentiment towards China remained negative as the country's manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 from 50.6 in September. However, the Chinese administration continues to point to stimulus measures, which we expect to come through incrementally.

Mined commodity performance was mixed, with the copper price falling -2.2% but the iron ore price (62% fe) rising +2.1%. Elsewhere, the precious metals performed well on 'safe-haven' demand, with gold, silver and platinum prices rising +7.5%, +3.5% and +1.8% respectively. Meanwhile, battery materials prices were weak (particularly lithium) after General Motors and Ford announced a pullback in electric vehicle-related spend. At the company-level, we saw Q3 production numbers announced during the month, which were generally below or in line with expectations. We also saw some miners having to announce capital expenditure increases.

Strategy and Outlook

China has re-opened but with less impact than had been expected early this year. 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.

In 2023, we have seen 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.

All data points are in USD terms unless stated otherwise.

16 November 2023

Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.com/uk/brwm on the internet. Neither the contents of the Manager's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

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