I don't normally invest in ASX mining shares. The ASX is home to many fine companies in the mining and resources space. But all miners are inherently inferior companies in my view, thanks to the fact that, unlike almost every other company, they cannot dictate what they sell their products for.
If the iron ore price is $100 a tonne, every iron ore miner essentially has no choice but to sell their product at $100.
This makes it difficult, but not impossible, for miners to grow and compound their profits over time.
So if I had to invest $2,000 in mining shares, this is the weakness I would attempt to mitigate.
I would buy these 2 ASX mining shares with $2,000
I would do so by buying mining shares that have a diversified earnings base of multiple commodities, not a one-trick pony. So the first ASX mining share I would buy with our $2,000 would be BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). BHP is the largest company in Australia and one of the largest miners in the world.
Its main gig is iron ore. But BHP also has significant operations in the copper space, as well as metallurgical coal, nickel and potash.
BHP's sheer size gives it a massive advantage when it comes to costs, meaning BHP can survive when cyclical commodity prices are low, and thrive when they are high. So if I had to choose an ASX mining share, BHP would be my first pick.
Another ASX mining share I would look to is South32 Ltd (ASX: S32). South32 actually used to be part of BHP until it was spun out in its own right back in 2015. South32 plays in commodities that BHP doesn't specialise in. Its primary earnings bases are zinc, silver, aluminium, manganese and lead. But it also has operations involving copper, coal and nickel.
South32 has mines across several continents, including in Southern Africa, Brazil, Alaska, Colombia and Australia.
Like BHP, South32 is a large global miner, with relatively efficient cost bases. Thanks to its diversified portfolio of commodities, it makes a nice fit alongside BHP.
So those are the two ASX mining shares I would buy with $2,000 today. Together, BHP and South32 give an investor broad exposure to some of the most profitable commodities on the markets, with a very low risk of catastrophic capital loss.
