Metals & Mining ETFs: broad miners vs rare earths and nickel

What are metals & mining ETFs?

Metals and mining companies dig up, refine and sell metals, from steel and copper to lithium, nickel and rare earths (metals used in magnets and electronics). The four US-listed ETFs in this guide own shares in these companies, not the metals themselves. They have little in common. Even the most widely held stocks in the group, MP Materials, Freeport-McMoRan, Nucor and Steel Dynamics, each appear in only two of the four funds.

All four are index funds. That means each one copies a published list of stocks, called an index. None uses leverage, inverse bets or options, and each covers a different slice of the industry. XME follows an S&P index drawn from US metals and mining stocks and spreads its money fairly evenly over 39 holdings. Its largest, Uranium Energy Corp, is 4.76% of assets. PICK follows an MSCI index of global producers of diversified metals that leaves out gold and silver companies. It holds 280 stocks but puts 13.81% in BHP Group. REMX tracks the MVIS Global Rare Earth/Strategic Metals Index through 30 holdings led by Xiamen Tungsten and Albemarle. NIKL tracks the Nasdaq Sprott Nickel Miners Index and is the most concentrated: 74.25% of its assets sit in its top 10 holdings.

Expense ratios (the yearly fee, taken as a share of the money invested) run from 0.35% for XME to 0.75% for NIKL. Half the funds charge 0.39% or less: XME, and PICK at 0.39%. REMX charges 0.53%.

There are only four funds, so the five largest hold 100% of the group's roughly $9.7 billion by definition. Within that, the money is lopsided. XME alone has about $4.4 billion. REMX and PICK have about $2.7 billion and $2.6 billion. NIKL launched in March 2023 and has about $54 million.

Metals & mining ETF holdings: the stocks most funds own

The stocks that show up most often among the largest positions of the 4 biggest metals & mining ETFs with holdings reports, from their latest N-PORT filings.

Typical weight is the median share of each fund’s assets in the stock, among the funds that hold it in their 25 largest positions.

The largest metals & mining ETFs, side by side

Swipe the table to see all 4 funds.

The largest ordinary funds by net assets (leveraged and inverse funds are listed further down). Holdings from each fund’s latest N-PORT report; returns include reinvested distributions, as of Oct 27, 2026.

Head to head

How much do the largest metals & mining ETFs overlap?

Owning two funds that hold the same stocks adds little diversification. Overlap here is the share of assets two funds have in common: for each stock both own, the smaller of its two weights, added up.

From each fund’s full holdings in its latest N-PORT report.

How have metals & mining ETFs performed?

The five largest ordinary funds: growth from the start of the range, distributions reinvested. The dashed gray line is the S&P 500 (SPY).

Best-performing metals & mining ETFs over the past year

Funds with at least $25 million in net assets; leveraged and inverse funds left out. Past returns don’t predict future returns.

How metals & mining ETFs did in past market crashes

Total return from the stock market’s peak to its low in each fall, distributions reinvested.

What drives metals & mining ETFs?

Mining companies sell products whose prices are set in global markets, so their profits rise and fall with metal prices. Their costs for labor, fuel and equipment move slowly. A modest change in the price of copper, nickel or rare earths can therefore mean a large swing in profit, and in share price. Demand follows construction, factory output and, for metals such as lithium and nickel, battery production. Supply shifts when mines open or close, or when governments change export rules or mining taxes. Metals are priced in US dollars, so currency moves matter too.

That is why these funds can part ways with the broad market and with each other. In the 2020 COVID crash, the S&P 500 fell 33.7%, but REMX fell 37.6% and PICK fell 41.4%. In the 2022 bear market (a long, steep fall in stock prices), the S&P 500 lost 24.5%. REMX did worse, down 27.4%. PICK lost 14.8%, and XME ended about 1% higher. NIKL launched in 2023, so it was not around for either downturn.

Metals & mining ETFs with the lowest expense ratios

Ordinary funds with at least $10 million in net assets. The median ordinary metals & mining ETF charges 0.39% a year; leveraged and inverse funds usually charge more.

Do metals & mining ETFs pay dividends?

4 of the 4 ordinary metals & mining ETFs with a page here paid distributions over the last 12 months, with a median yield of 2.33%.

Distributions over the last 12 months divided by the price; funds with at least $25 million in net assets.

How to choose a metals & mining ETF

• Yearly cost ranges from 0.35% to 0.75%. XME has the lowest fee at 0.35% a year, and PICK is close behind at 0.39%. REMX charges 0.53% and NIKL 0.75%. Fees come out of returns every year, so the gap adds up over long holding periods.
• Broad miners or one corner of the industry. PICK spreads across 280 producers of diversified metals, and XME across 39 US metals and mining stocks. REMX narrows to rare earth and strategic metals, and NIKL to nickel miners, so their results hinge on far fewer markets.
• US-only or worldwide holdings. XME picks from the metals and mining segment of a US total market index. PICK and REMX track global indexes, so they add companies such as BHP Group, Rio Tinto and China Northern Rare Earth Group, plus currency risk.
• How much rides on the top holdings. XME's top 10 holdings make up 44.3% of assets, and none tops 4.76%. PICK puts 13.81% in BHP Group alone. NIKL is the most concentrated: 74.25% in its top 10, including 15.93% in Nickel Industries.
• Fund size and track record. XME dates to June 2006 and has about $4.4 billion in assets. NIKL launched in March 2023 and has about $54 million. Small funds can cost more to trade, and their issuers sometimes close them.
• Income varies widely. As of October 27, 2026, yields ranged from 0.34% for XME to 3.63% for NIKL, with REMX at 2.4% and PICK at 2.33%. Mining companies often cut payouts when metal prices fall.

What are the risks of metals & mining ETFs?

• Deep, fast price swings. As of October 27, 2026, one-year volatility (how widely prices swing) ran from 31.7% for PICK to 46.7% for REMX. Within that year, REMX fell as much as 53% from a peak, and NIKL 46.5%.
• A few stocks carry heavy weight. NIKL's top 10 holdings make up 74.25% of assets, and Nickel Industries alone is 15.93%. PICK owns 280 stocks but has 13.81% in BHP Group. Bad news at one company can move these funds sharply.
• Tied to a narrow set of metals. NIKL depends on nickel miners, and REMX on rare earth and strategic metals. A price slump or supply glut hits every holding at once. In the year to October 27, 2026, NIKL lost 22.8% and REMX 20.8%.
• Foreign governments and currencies. PICK and REMX hold companies worldwide, including China Northern Rare Earth Group in REMX. Export limits, mining taxes and other rules set by foreign governments, along with currency moves against the dollar, can change what these holdings are worth.
• A small, young fund. NIKL has about $54 million in assets and launched in March 2023, so it missed the 2020 crash and the 2022 bear market. Small funds can cost more to trade, and their issuers sometimes close them.

List of all metals & mining ETFs, by size

All 4 metals & mining ETFs, compared →

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