Keen to get exposure to the mining sector but don't feel confident picking individual stocks?
Never fear, there is a simple way, via entities listed on the ASX, that you can buy into the strong performance of our resources winners without the risk and complexity of picking your own shares to buy.
One method is by buying exchange traded funds (ETFs), which aim to track the performance of a basket of shares, and another way is by not investing in the companies themselves, but in the royalty streams they generate.
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Gold ETF a winner
If you're keen on tracking the performance of mining companies themselves, one option is the Betashares global gold miners ETF (ASX: MNRS) ETF.
This particular ETF aims to track an index of the world's largest gold mining companies, and if you've been paying attention to the gold price over the past year, you'd assume correctly that an investment in this vehicle has paid off handsomely.
While a hiccup in the price of gold's seemingly inevitable march higher has meant MNRS has fallen 5.8% over the past month, looking further back, it's delivered a whopping 82.5% over the past year and a compound 15.6% over the past five years.
Some of the major holdings in the MNRS ETF include Barrick Gold Corp at 9.1%, Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) at 7.4%, and Agnico Eagle Mines also at 7.4%.
A slightly different vehicle is Betashares Global Royalty ETF (ASX: ROYL), which tracks the royalty streams generated by not only resources companies, but also companies with strong intellectual property holdings, and royalty financing arrangements.
While ROYL's largest holding is in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp, its second largest holding is in Universal Music Group, and it also holds a stake in Royalty Pharma Plc.
ROYL would be useful for investors seeking a regular income stream, as it pays out a distribution each month.
The fund's performance over the past year has been 25.8%, while looking further back, it has delivered compound annual growth of 21.1% over five years.
More mining royalty streams
And lastly there is Deterra Royalties Ltd (ASX: DRR), which holds the rights to a number of royalty streams in sectors such as iron ore, gold, and lithium.
The company says its benefit lies in gaining direct exposure to commodity price upside, without the risk associated with project development or operating cost issues.
At the end of FY25, the company held 28 royalties and "royalty-like assets" across 11 countries and six commodities, according to its annual report.
The report goes on to say:
With revenue-producing assets, and investments in projects across the development cycle, Deterra couples strong, consistent revenue streams with significant near, medium and long-term optionality.
Deterra's total shareholder return over the past year has been 7.4%, while over a five year period, it has been 2.2%, according to data sourced from CMC Markets.
Currently, it is offering a fully-franked dividend yield of 5.77%, according to the ASX website.
