BLACKROCK WORLD MINING TRUST plc
All information is at 30 April 2011 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
One Three One Three Five
Month Months Year Years Years
Net asset value* (undiluted) -0.3% 3.2% 29.3% 11.9% 94.4%
Net asset value* (diluted) -0.3% 3.2% 29.3% 13.7% 98.2%
Share price* 1.0% 5.6% 30.6% 14.8% 93.6%
HSBC Global Mining Index -0.7% 4.1% 19.9% 26.7% 108.6%
Sources: BlackRock, HSBC Global Mining Index, DataStream
* Net asset value and share price performance includes the warrant
reinvestment, assuming the 2004 and 2006 bonus warrant entitlement per share
was sold and the proceeds reinvested on the first day of trading.
At month end
Net asset value: Including Income Capital Only
Undiluted/diluted: 923.83p# 920.16p
# Includes net revenue of 3.67p
Share price: 797.50p
Discount to NAV**: 13.3%
Total assets: £1,682.20m
Net yield: 0.8%
Gearing: 2.9%
Ordinary shares in issue: 177,537,242
Ordinary shares held in Treasury: 15,474,600
** Discount to NAV based on capital only.
Sector % Total Country Analysis % Total
Assets Assets
Diversified 39.7 Global 34.0
Base Metals 26.8 Latin America 24.3
Industrial Minerals 10.5 Australasia 13.1
Gold 9.2 Other Africa 11.9
Silver & Diamonds 7.7 South Africa 7.2
Platinum 4.5 USA 2.0
Other 0.5 Canada 1.8
Net current assets 1.1 Emerging Europe 1.8
----- Europe 1.2
100.0 India 0.9
===== Indonesia 0.5
Mongolia 0.2
Net current assets 1.1
-----
100.0
=====
Ten Largest Investments (in alphabetical order)
Company
BHP Billiton
First Quantum Minerals
Freeport McMoRan
Glencore Finance (Europe) 5% 31/12/14
Impala Platinum
Minas Buenaventura
Rio Tinto
Soc Min Cerro Verde
Teck Resources
Vale
Commenting on the markets, Evy Hambro, representing the Investment Manager
noted:
Performance
Mining equities overcame the negative market sentiment that followed S&P's
decision to place US treasury debt on 'watch' as well as another reserve ratio
rise in China to finish the month in positive territory, although still at the
lower end of historical valuation ranges.
Copper was the most obvious exception in what was otherwise a similarly robust
month for underlying commodity prices. The red metal finished the month down
1.25% but still at the impressive level of US$9,296/tonne. The inclement and
disruptive weather seen across key exporting regions in 2010 is still having an
impact on seaborne markets for certain commodities. The bulks enjoyed another
month of gains. BHP Billiton noted in their first quarter production results
that most of their coking coal brands are still under force majeure after the
torrential flooding in Queensland and that iron ore production is not yet back
to normal operational capacity after the heavy rainfall and cyclones in the
Pilbara region in Western Australia.
Chinese import data released during the month revealed that the world's second
largest economy's hunger for commodities remains robust: copper imports, for
example, increased by 30% month on month in March.
In confirmation of the scarcity value and fundamental attractiveness of high
quality copper assets, the African copper industry played host to a flurry of
M&A activity in March. At the beginning of the month, Equinox, a core copper
position in the Company and owner of the Lumwana copper mine in Zambia, was bid
for by Minmetals Resources, a Hong Kong listed company controlled by a Chinese
State Owned Enterprise. Minmetals subsequently withdrew their bid on the
emergence of a rival, friendly takeover attempt of Equinox by Barrick.
Barrick's C$7.1 billion counteroffer trumped Minmetals by a meaningful margin:
the proposal equated to C$8.15 a share compared to Minmetals' initial C$7.00
offer. Vale, the Brazilian diversified miner, also stepped into the fray with a
US$1.1 billion bid for Metorex, the South African copper and cobalt producer
with assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.
What April's corporate activity undoubtedly showed is the premium companies are
willing to attach to scalable copper assets and their importance in an industry
that is otherwise struggling to expand. This can only be a good sign for the
fundamentals of the red metal and the holdings in the Company with exposure to
this area.
Over the course of the month, Glencore, the hitherto privately owned
commodities powerhouse, announced their intention to float. The Company has
exposure to the company via a convertible bond issued towards the end of 2009.
Strategy/Outlook
2011 has so far been a volatile period for mining equities. The sector has at
times been at the mercy of macroeconomic uncertainty and has broadly been at
the forefront of any risk on/risk off trade. The fundamentals for our favoured
commodities continue to look supportive.
The strength of those fundamentals are not being fully reflected in equity
valuations which look attractive not only on a historical basis but also when
considered in light of the exceptional levels of free cashflow mining companies
are able to generate at current commodity prices. The trends of more mergers
and acquisition activity, as well as returns to shareholders that we have been
noting and predicting for some time, are firmly in place and we anticipate
still more to come.
18 May 2011
ENDS
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