Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK WORLD MINING TRUST plc
All information is at 31 October 2015 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
		One			Three				One	Three		Five
		Month			Months				Year	Years		Years
Net asset value		9.1%			-8.5%				-31.9%	-58.4%		-64.2%
Share price		9.5%			-5.7%				-30.3%	-54.6%		-58.8%
Euromoney Global Mining Index		6.6%			-8.4%				-31.8%	-51.8%		-60.5%
(Total return)
Sources: BlackRock, Euromoney Global Mining Index, Datastream
At month end
Net asset value including income*:								242.86p
Net asset value capital only:								232.96p
*Includes net revenue of 9.9p
Share price:								225.25p
Discount to NAV**:								7.3%
Total assets:								£504.9m
Net yield***:								9.3%
Net gearing:								13.7%
Ordinary shares in issue:								177,287,242
Ordinary shares held in treasury:								15,724,600
Ongoing charges****:								1.4%
** Discount to NAV including income. *** Based on an interim dividend of 7.00p in respect of the year ending 31 December 2015 and a final dividend of 14.00p in respect of the year ended 31 December 2014. **** Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, excluding finance costs for the year ended 31 December 2014.
Sector	% Total					Country Analysis					% Total
	Assets										Assets
Diversified	38.2					Global					48.5
Base Metals	20.1					Latin America					14.0
Gold	13.7					Australasia					8.6
Silver & Diamonds	11.2					Canada					7.8
Industrial Minerals	5.9					Other Africa					7.7
Other	4.3					Emerging Europe					5.2
Energy Minerals	1.9					China					1.9
Aluminium	0.4					South Africa					1.7
Zinc	0.2					Indonesia					0.5
Net current assets	4.1					Net current assets					4.1
	-----										-----
	100.0										100.0
	=====										=====
Ten Largest Investments
Company				% Total Assets
BHP Billiton				13.1
Rio Tinto				11.7
First Quantum Minerals				7.2
Lundin Mining				4.9
Norilsk Nickel				4.8
Glencore				4.0
Fresnillo				4.0
Cerro Verde				3.7
Hudbay Minerals				2.7
Potash Corp				2.6

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

Performance

October saw a general market rotation away from some of the best performing segments of the equity market into some of the laggards, such as energy, mining and emerging market equities. The Euromoney Global Mining Index returned +6.6% during the month whilst the Company’s NAV returned +9.1%. The positive performance in the mining equities was not replicated in the base metals as aluminium, nickel and copper declined -7.6%, -3.1% and -0.9% respectively. (Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream)

Macroeconomic data was mixed during the month with strong US consumer spending, coupled with weaker US GDP growth. Data from China suggested the country’s fundamentals were stronger than the market had previously feared. The average property price across 70 Chinese cities, tracked by China’s National Bureau of Statistics, recorded a month-on-month increase for the fourth consecutive month, whilst sales of passenger cars in September were up +3.3% year-on-year. In contrast, China’s manufacturing PMI remained below 50, signifying continued contraction.

In the mining space, Glencore, one of the major diversified miners, announced that it would cut 500,000 tonnes of its zinc production over the coming 18 months. This represents approximately 4% of the world’s total zinc supply and is the first large supply cut the zinc market has seen since the most recent weak commodity prices. The company also announced it would reduce its copper supply by a further 55,000 tonnes, bringing its total copper supply cuts to 455,000 tonnes. We look to the other industry players to take similar action on marginal production.

Precious metals had a volatile month as conflicting data points sent prices in different directions. Physical demand for silver has been robust in response to the lower prices and a stubbornly high gold to silver ratio. For example the Perth Mint (that refines silver coins in Australia) reported that silver sales for September surged to a 3 year high of 3.35m ounces and gold sales rose to a 12 month high of almost 64,000 ounces. The silver producers benefited from this and the Company’s silver exposure contributed to positive performance.

Nyrstar, a Belgian based zinc miner, announced disappointing results during the period. The company highlighted refinancing risk and acknowledged a possible funding gap, ultimately painting an uncertain future for the company’s operations. The share price fell following the announcement and the Company’s position detracted from performance as a result.

All data points in USD terms

Strategy and Outlook

Good company strategy has been outweighed by weakening commodity demand and falling commodity prices in the past year. Looking ahead, the outlook for commodity prices remains subdued, given expectations of further US dollar strength and a modest demand outlook. This pressure will continue to force tough decisions and mining companies are likely to remain in austerity mode. Recent commodity price falls suggest further cuts to analyst earnings will be required. As the year progresses, we would expect an acceleration of closures of high-cost capacity in oversupplied markets. This bodes well for the longer term and limits the industry’s ability to respond to the next upturn in demand which will ultimately see prices go higher.

While the sector continues to face headwinds, it is important to remember that we are another year further into the underinvestment phase and closer to the deficit markets that we foresee. We expect an inflection point to be reached once price (and consequently return) expectations start to recover as a result of the supply curtailment, which should accelerate with the current commodity price weakness.

23 November 2015

ENDS

Latest information is available by typing www.brwmplc.co.uk on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal).  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.