Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK WORLD MINING TRUST plc  (LEI - LNFFPBEUZJBOSR6PW155)
All information is at 30 April 2018 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
		One			Three				One	Three		Five
		Month			Months				Year	Years		Years
Net asset value		4.9%			-1.7%				16.2%	41.1%		1.4%
Share price		2.6%			-2.7%				18.0%	43.4%		0.8%
Euromoney Global Mining Index (Gross)		4.6%			-2.8%				16.8%	36.4%		13.2%
Euromoney Global Mining Index (Net)*		4.6%			-3.0%				16.3%	34.4%		10.3%
(Total return)
Sources: BlackRock, Euromoney Global Mining Index, Datastream
* The Company’s performance benchmark (the Euromoney Global Mining Total Return Index) may be calculated on either a Gross or a Net return basis.  Net return (NR) indices calculate the reinvestment of dividends net of withholding taxes using the tax rates applicable to non-resident institutional investors, and hence give a lower total return than indices where calculations are on a Gross basis.  As the Company is subject to the same withholding tax rates for the countries in which it invests, the NR basis is felt to be the most accurate, appropriate, consistent and fair comparison for the Company.  Historically the benchmark data for the Company has always been stated on a Gross basis, and therefore for transparency both sets of benchmark data are provided in the table above.  Going forward it is the Board’s intention to monitor the Company’s performance with reference to the NR version of the benchmark.
At month end
Net asset value including income1:								433.67p
Net asset value capital only:								425.96p
1 Includes net revenue of 7.71p
Share price:								380.00p
Discount to NAV2:								12.4%
Total assets:								£872.4m
Net yield3:								4.1%
Net gearing:								13.9%
Ordinary shares in issue:								176,455,242
Ordinary shares held in treasury:								16,556,600
Ongoing charges4:								1.00%
2 Discount to NAV including income. 3 Based on quarterly interim dividends of 3.00p per share declared on 4 May 2017, 10 August 2017 and 10 November 2017 and a final dividend of 6.60p per share in respect of the year ended 31 December 2017. 4 Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, excluding finance costs, for the year ended 31 December 2017.
Sector	% Total					Country Analysis					% Total
	Assets										Assets
Diversified	49.3					Global					63.3
Copper	20.8					Latin America					13.9
Gold	13.2					Australasia					9.7
Silver & Diamonds	7.8					Other Africa					5.3
Industrial Minerals	6.6					Canada					5.0
Zinc	1.5					USA					1.0
Steel	0.4					South Africa					0.7
Aluminium	0.3					Kazakhstan					0.4
Iron Ore	0.1					Russia					0.3
	-----					Mexico					0.2
	100.0					Argentina					0.2
	=====										-----
											100.0
											=====
Ten Largest Investments
Company				% Total Assets
Rio Tinto				10.4
BHP Billiton				9.4
Vale				8.5
Glencore				8.1
First Quantum Minerals				7.3
Teck Resources				5.6
Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde				3.6
Lundin Mining				2.6
Avanco Resources				2.4
Mountain Province Diamonds				2.4

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

Performance

The Company’s NAV increased by 4.9% in April, outperforming its benchmark, the Euromoney Global Mining Index, which returned 4.6%.

The mining sector outperformed broader equity markets during April, with the Company’s benchmark returning 4.6% versus the MSCI World Index up 2.8%. Outperformance was driven by evidence of strengthening economic activity in China and healthy reductions in China’s steel inventories. Steel inventory draws usually occur earlier in the year, but this year they were delayed by the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress in China held in March. Meanwhile, environmental concerns remain a key focus for China, with premiums for high quality products, most notably iron ore, remaining at elevated levels.

Turning to the commodities, base metals performed strongly during the month. The aluminium price finished up 13.6% after US sanctions were issued against Russian aluminium giant Rusal. However, zinc fell by 4.8% during the month amid concerns of new supply coming to the market in the near term. Bulk commodities performed well, with iron ore (62% Fe) up by 3.1%, supported by the aforementioned steel inventory draws in China. Precious metals were weak, however, with gold falling by 0.8% during the month, as headwinds included the US 10-year yield reaching 3% and the US dollar strengthening towards the end of April. This outweighed tailwinds provided by the heightened geopolitical risks during the period. (Commodity returns in USD).

Strategy and Outlook

After two strong years, investors that have not been exposed to mining may now be questioning if they have missed the opportunity. We are, however, still a long way below the peak in 2011 and the sector continues to trade at a valuation discount to broader equity markets. Meanwhile, the miners are trading on very attractive cash flow multiples with Glencore, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto all currently trading at forward free cash flow yields of around 10%, for example. For the mined commodities, in most cases, we believe they look reasonably fairly priced and so our base case is that they remain relatively range-bound at current levels which sees healthy profitability for the sector. Crucially, however, mining equities are still pricing in commodity prices well below current spot prices and, as such, we are constructive on the shares but neutral the commodities themselves. Many still distrust the miners, expecting them to make the same mistakes of the past in terms of poor capital discipline. Our view though is that the pain of the recent down-cycle is still too fresh in the minds of management teams for this to become a widespread issue in the near-term. We have begun to see moderate increases in sustaining capex announced but we believe for the most part these have been necessary increases rather than indicative of a widespread return to poor capital discipline.

All data points are in GBP terms unless stated otherwise.

17 May 2018

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.