Performance at Month End

Merrill Lynch World Mining Tst PLC 08 November 2002 MONTHLY PERFORMANCE MERRILL LYNCH WORLD MINING TRUST plc All information is at 31 October 2002 and unaudited. Performance at month end with net income reinvested One Three One Three Five month months year years years Net asset value 3.8% 7.1% 25.5% 41.2% 76.4% Share price 2.7% 4.9% 32.2% 41.4% 81.8% HSBC Global Mining Index (capital only) 4.0% -0.9% -0.2% 2.5% 12.6% MSCI World Metals & Mining Index (capital only) 5.9% -6.3% -7.3% -16.0% -16.1% Sources: Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, HSBC Global Mining Index, Datastream At month end Net asset value: 133.81p Discount to NAV: 15.6% Share price: 113.00p Net historic yield: 2.8% Total assets: £214.3m Gearing: Nil Effective gearing: 0.9% Ordinary shares in issue: 162,800,000 (145,461 shares were repurchased and cancelled during the month.) Sector Analysis % Total Assets Country Analysis % Total Assets Diversified 28.0 South Africa 32.0 Gold 27.3 Europe 20.1 Base Metals 18.3 Latin America 15.6 Platinum 12.4 Canada 13.4 Industrial Minerals 7.2 Australasia 12.3 Silver/Diamonds 6.7 USA 5.5 Gold Bullion 1.0 China 1.0 Cash 1.2 Gold Bullion 1.0 Net current liabilities (2.1) Cash 1.2 Net current liabilities (2.1) 100.0 100.0 Ten Largest Equity Investments Company % Investments Country of Risk Gold Fields 9.4 South Africa Impala Platinum 9.2 South Africa Harmony Gold Mining 6.4 South Africa Minas Buenaventura 6.4 Peru BHP Billiton 6.3 Global Rio Tinto 5.3 Global Aber Diamond 5.3 Canada CVRD 5.1 Brazil Western Mining Corporation 3.9 Australia Pechiney 3.2 France 60.5 Commenting on the markets, Graham Birch, representing the Investment Manager noted: Mining shares staged a modest rally during October, driven higher by resurgent broad equity markets (MSCI World Index up by over 7% during the month) and a better tone to metals markets (base metals prices on average 6% higher). With markets doing better, gold in true counter-cyclical style weakened - slipping by 2%. Gold shares therefore fell by around 6% - a contributory factor in the Trust's relatively lacklustre performance during the month. Quarterly earnings results from mining companies around the world were generally disappointing, with cost control a problem in South Africa and metal prices somewhat weak. Most analysts have been lowering their earnings forecasts for the industry with a negative knock-on effect into 2003, and in some cases 2004. On the corporate front, October was a quiet month. Western Mining Corporation finally commenced its long awaited 'un-bundling' process (nearly a year after the first announcement) - a fact that we welcome. Western Areas 'un-bundled' itself leading to our holding in the company rising somewhat and possibly making the company more attractive to a corporate predator. Derivatives At the end of October there were no outstanding derivatives positions in the portfolio. Outlook For the bulk of the portfolio, the outlook remains dominated by expectations of mildly positive economic growth. For the gold shares, the overall level of uncertainty in the markets is the key driver. Latest information is available by typing www.mlim.co.uk/its on the internet, 'MLIMINDEX' on Reuters, 'MLIM' on Bloomberg or '8800' on Topic 3 (ICV terminal). 8 November 2002 ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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