BlackRock World Mining (BRWM)

BlackRock World Mining (BRWM) has delivered exceptional returns in 2025, with a number of the managers’ high conviction positions paying off (see Performance). Gold miners have done particularly well for the trust, as they have finally responded to high prices and falling cost pressures, and gold now makes up around 40% of NAV on a look-through basis. The overweight to copper miners has also paid off, with the industry benefitting from the strength of newer sources of demand such as the energy transition, which has more than offset ongoing weakness in Chinese real estate and industry.

High cash generation from the gold miners is promising for the dividend outlook, with payouts from the industry starting to rise. Portfolio income has fallen over the past two years as special dividends have declined, and at the time of writing, the historic yield for BRWM is 4.1%. However, the board has stated it will consider the outlook for revenues when deciding whether to hold the final payment for this financial year through the use of reserves (see Dividend). In our view, the outlook for dividends from the gold sector could mean that the downturn in dividends over the past two years is over.

In the short term, concern about the impact of tariffs on global trade and the outlook for the global economy could weigh on markets as they have at times this year. The Discount has been particularly volatile and has recently moved out to 3.8%. However, the structural drivers of copper demand in particular have been strong, with the energy transition and AI data centres both requiring vast amounts of the metal. Perhaps due to these mentioned short-term worries, the valuations in the mining industry continue to look attractive, even after sharp outperformance of global equities over the past 12 months.