Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK WORLD MINING TRUST plc All information is at 31 March 2012 and unaudited. Performance at month end with net income reinvested One Three One Three Five Month Months Year Years Years Net asset value* (undiluted) -7.6% 4.3% -16.4% 106.8% 41.4% Net asset value* (diluted) -7.6% 4.3% -16.4% 106.8% 44.8% Share price* -7.9% 8.6% -13.1% 111.7% 41.8% HSBC Global Mining Index -10.2% 0.8% -24.2% 68.1% 46.6% 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: 760.96p* 754.93p *Includes net revenue of 6.03p Share price: 672.50p Discount to NAV**: 11.6% Total assets: £1,391.60m Net yield***: 2.1% Gearing: 3.2% Ordinary shares in issue: 177,287,242 Ordinary shares held in Treasury: 15,724,600 ** Discount to NAV including Income. *** Based on proposed final ordinary dividend of 14.00p per share in respect of the year ended 31 December 2011. Sector % Total Country Analysis % Total Assets Assets Diversified 41.5 Global 45.0 Base Metals 20.9 Latin America 19.4 Industrial Minerals 14.4 Australasia 12.3 Gold 9.1 Other Africa 10.7 Silver & Diamonds 8.9 South Africa 6.6 Platinum 3.0 Republic of Congo 1.5 Energy Minerals 2.2 USA 1.3 Net current assets 0.0 Emerging Europe 1.2 ----- Democratic Republic of Congo 1.0 100.0 Canada 0.7 ===== Indonesia 0.2 Mongolia 0.1 Net current assets 0.0 ----- 100.0 ===== Ten Largest Investments % Total Assets Company Rio Tinto 9.3 BHP Billiton 8.1 Vale 7.6 Glencore Finance (Europe) 5% 31/12/14 5.8 Iluka Resources 4.6 Minas Buenaventura 4.3 First Quantum Minerals 4.0 Industrias Penoles 3.8 Teck Resources 3.7 Fresnillo 3.7 Commenting on the markets, Evy Hambro, representing the Investment Manager noted: Performance Weaker sentiment entered markets in March following the bullish tones of January and February. Early in the month, Premier Wen provided guidance on China's growth for 2012 targeting a GDP of 7.5% (revised down from 8%); this caused the market a degree of concern and risk appetite weakened. Later in the month, the Fed, bolstered by improving economic conditions in the US, suggested that US growth was relatively well supported. This was interpreted by the market that QE3 was less likely and risk assets sold off on this news. A number of physical commodities also exhibited weakness, as the realisation that an injection of liquidity in the form of QE3 would not be forthcoming, put downward pressure on real assets. In the base metals market both aluminium and nickel fell by 8.7% and 7.4% respectively and, in precious metals, silver declined by 12.9% and palladium by 9.8%. Key commodities favoured in the Company exhibited resilience during this period of relative weakness. Copper was broadly flat over the month returning -0.2%, and iron ore rose ~10% to $150/t (CIF China). Import numbers in to China trended higher in March, providing relative support for these commodities. The threat of resource nationalism remains a concern in the mining market. In March, the Indonesian government announced a new mining decree limiting foreign ownership of Indonesian assets to 49% (after a mine has been in production for 10 years). The longer term implications of this policy change are that mining companies are likely to develop fewer projects than they might otherwise have before this change. This may impact the future supply of key commodities such as copper, nickel, tin and thermal coal all of which are currently mined and exported from Indonesia. The gold price was challenged by a number of factors during the month causing it to trend lower. A move by the Indian government to double gold import duties as part of their 2012 budget set a weaker tone to the gold market. This new policy resulted in a unified strike action by jewelers across India. This news, coupled with a weak rupee, placed downward pressure on physical gold demand in March from India. The gold price appeared to find some support at around $1,600/oz. In company news it was reported that a consortium of companies led by Glencore, the diversified miner, bid for Viterra the North American agribusiness company. The offer to buy the company for C$6.1bn was made at a 48% premium to Viterra's share price prior to speculation around the potential deal (8th March 2012). This deal enables Glencore to expand its grain handling infrastructure in a safe jurisdiction where the grain market is going through a process of deregulation. Strategy/Outlook The global macro-economic outlook is likely to drive, as it did in 2011, the near-term performance of the mining sector. The fundamentals of the sector provide investors with an optimistic outlook: supply/demand balances in certain commodities are constructive; demand from the world's largest consumer of commodities, China, is robust; supply disruptions and challenges (courtesy of factors as various as weather, declining grades, labour action and infrastructure challenges) played key roles in keeping prices supported at various stages in 2011 and appear likely to so again in 2012. Mining company valuations look attractive across a variety of metrics such as earnings and cash flow multiples and price to NAV levels. Balance sheets have been bolstered by more careful management and record cashflow generation. M&A is likely to be a recurrent theme. Mining managements have also shown themselves more willing to share that balance sheet strength with investors through dividends and buybacks, a trend they would do well to continue. 18 April 2012 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.
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