Form N-CSRS Franklin Gold & Precious For: Jan 31
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E-mailUNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC
20549
FORM N-CSRS
CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT
OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Investment Company Act file
number 811-01700
Franklin Gold and Precious
Metals Fund
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
One Franklin Parkway
, San Mateo, CA
94403-1906
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
Alison Baur, One
Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, CA 94403-1906
(Name and address of agent for service)
Registrant's
telephone number, including area code:(650)312-2000
Date
of fiscal year end: 7/31
Date
of reporting period: 1/31/23
Item
1. Reports to Stockholders.
a.)
The
following is a copy of the report transmitted to shareholders pursuant to
Rule30e-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”)
(17 CFR 270.30e-1.)
b.)
Include
a copy of each notice transmitted to stockholders in reliance on Rule 30e-3
under the Act (17 CFR 270.30e-3) that contains disclosures specified by
paragraph (c)(3) of that rule.
Not Applicable
.
SEMIANNUAL
REPORT
AND
SHAREHOLDER
LETTER
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
January
31,
2023
Sign
up
for
electronic
delivery
at
franklintempleton.com/edelivery
Not
FDIC
Insured
May
Lose
Value
No
Bank
Guarantee
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
1
Shareholder
Letter
Dear
Shareholder:
During
the
six
months
ended
January
31,
2023,
stocks
rallied
amid
signs
of
a
more
stable
global
economy
despite
pressure
from
higher
inflation
and
interest
rates.
Prices
of
oil
and
other
commodities
that
spiked
after
Russia’s
invasion
of
Ukraine
returned
to
or
near
prior
levels,
helping
to
curb
inflation.
China
ended
its
strict
zero-COVID
policy,
which
investors
hoped
would
boost
global
economic
growth,
and
China’s
economy
grew
on
an
annual
basis
in
2022’s
last
two
quarters.
A
potentially
slower
pace
of
U.S.
Federal
Reserve
(Fed)
interest-rate
hikes
and
improved
developing
nation
economies
boosted
emerging
markets.
Eurozone
economies
grew
slowly
in
2022’s
second
half.
The
European
Central
Bank
increased
its
key
rate
to
combat
inflation.
Although
the
war
in
Ukraine
and
sanctions
against
Russia
disrupted
Europe’s
natural
gas
supply,
alternative
sources
and
lower
use
helped
maintain
supplies
at
historically
high
levels.
In
this
environment,
stocks
in
global
developed
markets
excluding
the
U.S.
and
Canada,
as
measured
by
the
MSCI
Europe,
Australasia
and
Far
East
Index-NR
(net
of
tax
withholding
when
dividends
are
paid),
posted
a
+9.52%
total
return
for
the
period.
1
The
price
of
gold
rose
9.2%
during
the
six-month
period
under
review,
closing
the
period
at
$1,928
per
troy
ounce,
with
most
of
the
rally
occurring
in
the
latter
half
as
a
prolonged
downtrend
reversed
course.
2
Gold
reached
a
30-month
low
in
late
September
2022
as
it
was
pressured
in
part
by
tightening
Fed
monetary
policy
and
a
resulting
strong
U.S.
dollar,
but
prices
began
to
recover
in
November
and
closed
2022
at
a
six-month
high,
then
climbed
further
in
January
2023.
Among
the
catalysts
for
gold’s
eventual
upside
move
was
its
inverse
correlation
to
the
trade-
weighted
U.S.
dollar
as
the
world’s
reserve
currency
ebbed
from
a
20-year
high
in
September
2022;
cooler
U.S.
inflation
data
that
spurred
expectations
of
a
slowdown
in
monetary
tightening;
and
softening
global
macroeconomic
data
and
volatile
equities
which
spent
most
of
the
period
in
bear
market
territory.
In
this
environment,
gold
stocks,
as
measured
by
the
FTSE
®
Gold
Mines
Index,
posted
a
total
return
of
+27.18%
for
the
six-month
period.
1
We
are
committed
to
our
long-term
perspective
and
disciplined
investment
approach
as
we
conduct
a
rigorous,
fundamental
analysis
of
securities
with
a
regular
emphasis
on
investment
risk
management.
We
believe
active,
professional
investment
management
serves
investors
well.
We
also
recognize
the
important
role
of
financial
professionals
in
today’s
markets
and
encourage
investors
to
continue
to
seek
their
advice.
Amid
changing
markets
and
economic
conditions,
we
are
confident
investors
with
a
well-diversified
portfolio
and
a
patient,
long-term
outlook
should
be
well
positioned
for
the
years
ahead.
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund’s
semiannual
report
includes
more
detail
about
prevailing
conditions
and
discussions
about
investment
decisions
during
the
period.
Please
remember
all
securities
markets
fluctuate,
as
do
mutual
fund
share
prices.
We
thank
you
for
investing
with
Franklin
Templeton,
welcome
your
questions
and
comments,
and
look
forward
to
serving
your
future
investment
needs.
Sincerely,
Edward
D.
Perks,
CFA
President
and
Chief
Executive
Officer
-
Investment
Management
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
This
letter
reflects
our
analysis
and
opinions
as
of
January
31,
2023,
unless
otherwise
indicated.
The
information
is
not
a
complete
analysis
of
every
aspect
of
any
market,
country,
industry,
security
or
fund.
Statements
of
fact
are
from
sources
considered
reliable.
CFA
®
is
a
trademark
owned
by
CFA
Institute.
1.
Source:
Morningstar.
2.
Source:
Bloomberg
LP.
Based
on
spot
prices
quoted
in
U.S.
dollars
per
troy
ounce.
See
www.franklintempletondatasources.com
for
additional
data
provider
information.
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
2
Contents
Semiannual
Report
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
3
Performance
Summary
8
Your
Fund’s
Expenses
10
Financial
Highlights
and
Schedule
of
Investments
11
Financial
Statements
20
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
24
Shareholder
Information
38
Visit
franklintempleton.com
for
fund
updates,
to
access
your
account,
or
to
find
helpful
financial
planning
tools.
3
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
SEMIANNUAL
REPORT
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
This
semiannual
report
for
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
covers
the
period
ended
January
31,
2023
.
Your
Fund’s
Goal
and
Main
Investments
The
Fund
seeks
capital
appreciation.
Its
secondary
goal
is
to
provide
shareholders
with
current
income
through
dividends
or
interest
received
from
its
investments.
Under
normal
market
conditions,
the
Fund
invests
at
least
80%
of
its
net
assets
in
securities
of
gold
and
precious
metals
operation
companies.
The
Fund
primarily
invests
in
equity
securities,
primarily
common
stock.
The
Fund
also
invests
in
American,
Global
and
European
Depositary
Receipts.
Performance
Overview
The
Fund’s
Class
A
shares
posted
a
+13.17%
cumulative
total
return
for
the
six
months
under
review.
In
comparison,
the
Fund’s
primary
benchmark,
the
sector-specific
FTSE
Gold
Mines
Index,
which
comprises
companies
whose
principal
activity
is
gold
mining,
posted
a
+27.18%
cumulative
total
return.
1
The
Fund’s
secondary
benchmark,
the
Standard
&
Poor’s
®
500
Index
(S&P
500
®
),
which
is
a
broad
measure
of
U.S.
stock
performance,
posted
a
-0.44%
cumulative
total
return.
1
You
can
find
the
Fund’s
long-term
performance
data
in
the
Performance
Summary
beginning
on
page
8
.
Performance
data
represent
past
performance,
which
does
not
guarantee
future
results.
Investment
return
and
principal
value
will
fluctuate,
and
you
may
have
a
gain
or
loss
when
you
sell
your
shares.
Current
performance
may
differ
from
figures
shown.
For
most
recent
month-end
performance,
go
to
franklintempleton.com
or
call
(800)
342-5236
.
Economic
and
Market
Overview
Global
developed
and
emerging
market
equities,
as
measured
by
the
MSCI
All
Country
World
Index-NR,
posted
a
+2.45%
total
return
for
the
six
months
ended
January
31,
2023.
1
Despite
continued
challenges
from
elevated
inflation
and
higher
interest
rates,
stocks
gained
amid
signs
of
resilience
in
the
global
economy.
The
price
of
oil
fell,
and
several
other
commodities
that
were
disrupted
by
Russia’s
invasion
of
Ukraine
stabilized
at
or
near
their
pre-war
prices,
easing
inflationary
pressure.
China
ended
its
restrictive
zero-
COVID
policy,
prompting
investor
optimism
that
a
return
to
normal
conditions
would
benefit
global
growth.
In
the
U.S.,
gross
domestic
product
growth
resumed
in
the
second
half
of
2022,
rebounding
from
a
contraction
in
the
first
half
of
the
year.
Increasing
consumer
and
government
spending,
rising
inventories
and
strong
nonresidential
fixed
investment
boosted
economic
growth.
Meanwhile,
inflation,
which
remained
heightened
relative
to
recent
decades,
showed
signs
of
easing.
The
annual
inflation
rate,
as
measured
by
the
consumer
price
index,
declined
for
each
of
the
final
five
months
of
2022.
In
an
effort
to
control
inflation,
the
U.S.
Federal
Reserve
(Fed)
raised
the
federal
funds
target
rate
three
times
during
the
period
to
end
at
a
range
of
4.25%–4.50%.
In
its
December
2022
meeting,
the
Fed
raised
interest
rates
by
50
basis
points
(bps),
a
decrease
from
the
previous
75
bps
raise,
although
it
stated
it
anticipates
ongoing
interest
rate
increases.
The
Fed
noted
that
inflation
remained
elevated,
spending
and
production
grew,
job
growth
remained
robust
and
the
unemployment
rate
continued
to
be
low.
Furthermore,
the
Fed
maintained
its
policy
of
reducing
its
accumulated
bond
holdings
and
decreasing
the
size
of
its
balance
sheet.
Economies
in
the
eurozone
maintained
a
slow
growth
rate
in
2022’s
third
and
fourth
quarters.
The
European
Central
Bank
continued
to
raise
interest
rates
during
the
six-month
period,
opting
to
increase
its
benchmark
rate
at
each
of
its
three
Geographic
Composition
1/31/23
%
of
Total
Net
Assets
Canada
53.4%
Australia
27.5%
South
Africa
6.0%
Burkina
Faso
5.3%
United
States
3.9%
Egypt
1.7%
Turkey
1.4%
Other
0.4%
Short-Term
Investments
&
Other
Net
Assets
0.4%
1.
Source:
Morningstar.
The
indexes
are
unmanaged
and
include
reinvestment
of
any
income
or
distributions.
They
do
not
reflect
any
fees,
expenses
or
sales
charges.
One
cannot
invest
directly
in
an
index,
and
an
index
is
not
representative
of
the
Fund’s
portfolio.
Net
Returns
(NR)
include
income
net
of
tax
withholding
when
dividends
are
paid.
The
dollar
value,
number
of
shares
or
principal
amount,
and
names
of
all
portfolio
holdings
are
listed
in
the
Fund’s
Schedule
of
Investments
(SOI).
The
SOI
begins
on
page
15
.
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
4
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
meetings
to
fight
growing
inflation.
While
the
ongoing
war
in
Ukraine
and
subsequent
sanctions
against
Russia
disrupted
the
supply
of
natural
gas
to
Europe,
alternate
supplies
and
reduced
industrial
consumption
helped
maintain
gas
inventories
at
historically
high
levels.
In
this
environment,
European
developed
market
equities,
as
measured
by
the
MSCI
Europe
Index-NR,
posted
a
+11.04%
total
return
for
the
six
months
under
review.
1
Asian
developed
and
emerging
market
equities,
as
measured
by
the
MSCI
All
Country
Asia
Index-NR,
posted
a
+5.09%
total
return
for
the
six-month
period.
1
Japan’s
economy
weakened
in
2022’s
third
quarter
amid
tepid
consumer
spending
and
decelerating
growth
in
business
investment.
China’s
economy
grew
on
an
annual
basis
in
the
third
and
fourth
quarters
of
2022.
In
December
2022,
China
loosened
its
strict
zero-COVID
policy,
lifting
a
potential
barrier
to
continued
growth
and
driving
gains
in
China’s
equity
market.
Global
emerging
market
stocks,
as
measured
by
the
MSCI
Emerging
Markets
Index-NR,
posted
a
+4.92%
total
return
for
the
six
months
under
review.
1
Indications
the
Fed
may
reduce
the
pace
of
interest
rate
increases
boosted
stocks
in
developing
nations
that
are
adversely
affected
by
high
interest
rates
in
the
U.S.
The
U.S.
dollar
declined
slightly
against
many
emerging
market
currencies,
easing
pressure
on
countries
that
rely
on
imported
commodities
denominated
in
U.S.
dollars.
Improving
macroeconomic
conditions
also
led
to
increased
investor
interest
in
emerging
markets
late
in
the
reporting
period.
Precious
Metals
Sector
Overview
The
price
of
gold
rose
9.2%
during
the
six-month
period
under
review,
closing
the
period
at
$1,928
per
troy
ounce,
with
most
of
the
rally
occurring
in
the
latter
half
as
a
prolonged
downtrend
reversed
course.
2
Gold
reached
a
30-month
low
in
late
September
2022
as
it
was
pressured
in
part
by
tightening
Fed
monetary
policy
and
a
resulting
strong
U.S.
dollar,
but
prices
began
to
recover
in
November
and
closed
2022
at
a
six-month
high,
then
climbed
further
in
January
2023.
Calendar
year
2022
was
volatile,
with
gold
prices
nearing
a
record
high
in
March
before
retreating
for
seven
consecutive
months
as
the
Fed
was
eventually
joined
by
other
major
central
banks
in
aggressively
hiking
interest
rates.
Among
the
catalysts
for
gold’s
eventual
upside
move
was
its
inverse
correlation
to
the
trade-weighted
U.S.
dollar
as
the
world’s
reserve
currency
ebbed
from
a
20-year
high
in
September
2022;
cooler
U.S.
inflation
data
that
spurred
expectations
of
a
slowdown
in
monetary
tightening;
and
softening
global
macroeconomic
data
and
volatile
equities
which
spent
most
of
the
period
in
bear
market
territory.
Other
drivers
included:
heightened
geopolitical
tensions
and
widespread
trade
restrictions
stemming
from
Russia’s
war
on
Ukraine,
where
the
potential
threat
of
nuclear
retaliation
emerged
as
a
worst-case
scenario;
deteriorating
U.S.-China
relations;
and
fears
that
the
impact
of
China’s
COVID-19
wave
might
damage
its
prospects
for
economic
recovery
or
spread
beyond
its
borders.
Precious
Metals
Prices
(7/31/22–1/31/23
)*
*Source:
Bloomberg
LP.
Amounts
shown
are
based
on
spot
prices
quoted
in
U.S.
dollars
per
troy
ounce.
For
illustrative
purposes
only;
not
representative
of
the
Fund’s
portfolio
composition
or
performance.
Elsewhere
in
the
precious
metals
markets,
the
prices
of
silver,
platinum
and
palladium—all
three
of
which
are
linked
more
closely
to
industrial
demand
than
gold—had
mixed
results:
silver
and
platinum
outperformed
gold
while
palladium
prices
declined.
Platinum
and
palladium
showed
a
wide
differential
as
they
faced
competing
tensions
of
supply
scarcity
versus
reduced
industrial
demand,
with
global
manufacturing
activity
beginning
to
shrink,
including
contraction
in
the
U.S.
and
other
major
economies.
We
have
also
begun
to
see
some
switching
from
palladium
to
platinum
in
newer
catalytic
converters
given
the
record
high
spread
between
the
metals
over
the
past
couple
years.
The
first
half
of
the
semiannual
period
was
difficult
for
industrial
metals
due
to
perceived
demand
weakness
and
despite
various
threats
to
supply.
Copper
and
most
other
base
metals
depreciated
into
2022’s
fourth
quarter
before
staging
solid
comebacks
through
January
2023,
as
fears
2.
Source:
Bloomberg
LP.
Based
on
spot
prices
quoted
in
U.S.
dollars
per
troy
ounce.
See
www.franklintempletondatasources.com
for
additional
data
provider
information.
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
5
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
of
a
looming
global
recession
eased
and
China’s
factory
sector
was
expected
to
begin
emerging
from
its
COVID-
19-induced
stagnation.
Copper
faced
new
supply
risks,
and
futures
rallied
in
the
final
three
months
of
the
reporting
period
and
posted
a
gain
for
the
period
as
a
whole.
Many
industrial
metals,
including
copper,
benefited
from
Chinese
government
policies
designed
to
aid
the
country
property
sector,
and
extended
the
gains
following
the
dismantling
of
the
country’s
“zero-COVID”
virus
controls.
Against
this
backdrop,
most
metals
and
mining
equities
rallied
broadly
and
solidly
late
in
the
period,
but
for
some
it
was
not
enough
to
offset
earlier
declines,
as
was
the
case
for
copper-
and
platinum/palladium-focused
miners,
many
of
which
remained
in
negative
territory
through
the
end
of
January
2023.
Investment
Strategy
Gold
and
precious
metals
operation
companies
include
companies
that
mine,
process,
or
deal
in
gold
or
other
precious
metals,
such
as
silver,
platinum
and
palladium,
including
mining
finance
and
exploration
companies
as
well
as
operating
companies
with
long-
or
medium-life
mines.
The
Fund
may
buy
securities
of
gold
and
precious
metals
operation
companies
located
anywhere
in
the
world
and
in
general
invests
predominantly
in
non-U.S.
companies.
The
Fund
may
invest
in
companies
without
regard
to
market
capitalization,
and
may
heavily
invest
in
small-
and
mid-
capitalization
companies.
We
look
for
companies
with
low
cost
reserves
and
experienced
management
teams
with
established
track
records,
particularly
focusing
on
companies
with
long
life
production
profiles,
expandable
resource
bases,
and
active
exploration
programs
that
can
potentially
drive
future
reserve
and
production
growth.
Manager’s
Discussion
During
the
six
months
under
review,
the
Fund’s
core
gold
mining
industry
holdings
(averaging
approximately
three-
quarters
of
total
net
assets)
performed
well
and
provided
the
bulk
of
the
overall
absolute
gain.
Among
the
key
contributors
were
some
of
our
largest
holdings,
including
Alamos
Gold,
Perseus
Mining,
AngloGold
Ashanti,
Barrick
Gold
and
Endeavour
Mining.
The
Fund
also
held
a
handful
of
outliers
to
the
upside—including
key
contributors
Torex
Gold
Resources
and
Ascot
Resources—that
had
a
leveraged
response
to
rising
gold
prices.
They
nearly
doubled
or
more
than
doubled
in
value
during
the
period
after
delivering
very
weak
performance
in
prior
periods.
In
particular,
Africa-focused
gold
producer
Perseus
increased
its
mineral
resource
and
ore
reserve
estimates
for
its
Nkosuo
Project
in
Ghana,
which
will
increase
the
life
of
the
company’s
nearby
Edikan
gold
mine
operation
by
18
to
24
months,
extending
it
into
fiscal-year
2027.
The
latest
findings
ensure
operations
can
continue
while
Perseus
conducts
further
exploration
on
the
recently
acquired
Agyakusu
exploration
permit
and
two
other
adjoining
exploration
permits
that
are
under
option
to
Perseus.
The
company
believes
the
discovery
of
additional
ore
reserves
within
trucking
distance
of
existing
infrastructure
is
a
highly
cost-effective
way
to
create
value
for
shareholders.
Solid
contribution
from
their
newest
mine,
Yaouré
in
the
Ivory
Coast,
complements
the
improved
profile
at
Edikan
and
provides
a
solid
base
of
cash
generation
to
consider
other
gold
mine
construction
projects.
Our
much
smaller
allocation
in
diversified
metals
and
mining
companies
(approximately
10%
of
the
portfolio)
provided
a
secondary
boost
to
absolute
returns
as
these
holdings
collectively
appreciated
more
so
than
the
Fund’s
solely
gold-focused
companies.
This
group
contained
a
relatively
even
split
of
net
contributors
and
detractors,
with
the
poor
performers
being
more
than
offset
by
sizeable
rallies
in
Ivanhoe
Mines
and
Chalice
Mining,
which
were
also
our
two
largest
positions
in
the
sub-industry.
Ivanhoe
Mines,
a
diversified
metal
producer
with
a
copper
focus,
announced
that
its
Kamoa-Kakula
Mining
Complex
in
the
Democratic
Republic
of
Congo
set
a
new
copper
production
record
in
the
third
quarter
of
2022
as
ongoing
optimization
work
successfully
targeted
higher-grade
ore,
while
its
Phase
3
expansion
at
the
mine
site
was
progressing
well.
Management
continued
to
debottleneck
its
milling
and
refining
operations
to
help
boost
production,
while
keeping
a
focus
on
discovering
and
developing
additional
high-grade
ore
bodies
to
provide
a
supply
of
metals
critically
needed
for
the
electrification
of
the
global
economy
and
infrastructure.
In
South
Africa,
the
company
continued
to
advance
the
sinking
of
the
second
primary
mine
shaft
at
its
Platreef
palladium,
platinum,
rhodium,
nickel,
copper
and
gold
operation,
and
remained
on
track
for
initial
production
from
the
first
shaft
in
2024.
Portfolio
Composition
1/31/23
%
of
Total
Net
Assets
Gold
79.6%
Diversified
Metals
&
Mining
9.9%
Precious
Metals
&
Minerals
6.4%
Silver
3.0%
Other
0.7%
Short-Term
Investments
&
Other
Net
Assets
0.4%
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
6
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
Chalice
Mining
is
a
development-stage
miner
with
multiple
projects
throughout
Australia,
including
its
world-class
multi-
metal
Julimar
Project
(nickel,
copper,
cobalt,
platinum
and
gold).
The
company
announced
strong
progress
derisking
the
development
with
encouraging
metallurgical
test
work
and
new
metal
discoveries
along
the
Julimar
Complex
trend.
With
seven
rigs
drilling,
and
several
still
untested
mineralization
targets,
we
believe
there
will
be
a
solid
flow
of
ongoing
news
updates
from
Chalice
in
the
coming
months.
Elsewhere
in
the
portfolio,
incremental
gains
were
realized
in
the
precious
metals
and
minerals;
and
silver
industries.
When
combined,
these
holdings
represented
roughly
10%
of
the
overall
portfolio.
Top
contributor
Impala
Platinum
Holdings
(Implats)
benefited
from
the
rebound
in
platinum
prices
as
well
as
gains
in
nickel,
which
the
company
produces
as
a
byproduct
of
extracting
the
platinum
group
metals.
The
South
African-based
company’s
quarterly
production
report
for
the
July–September
2022
period
showed
roughly
flat
sales
compared
to
the
same
period
in
2021
despite
occasional
power
disruptions
and
maintained
its
forward
guidance
for
fiscal
year
2023.
Conversely,
the
Fund’s
four
holdings
in
copper-focused
miners
failed
to
advance,
and
they
were
led
lower
by
a
sharp
selloff
in
SolGold.
The
rest
of
the
Fund’s
key
detractors
were
individual
stocks
that
reduced
our
gains
in
other
industries.
In
the
gold
industry,
standout
detractors
included
Red
5,
Pantoro,
Lion
One
Metals,
Wiluna
Mining,
St.
Barbara,
Monarch
Mining
and
Pure
Gold
Mining.
Although
Wiluna,
Monarch
and
Pure
Gold
were
relatively
small
portfolio
positions,
the
negative
impact
was
pronounced
since
these
companies
lost
most
of
their
equity
value
over
the
August
2022–January
2023
span
as
all
three
were
forced
to
suspend
mining
operations
and
enter
into
financial
restructuring.
Red
5
was
by
far
the
largest
stock
position
among
the
detractors
mentioned
above.
Red
5
has
undergone
step
changes
in
its
growth
pathway
to
becoming
a
leading
mid-
tier
Australian
gold
producer,
underpinned
by
the
production
start
up
of
a
major
new
long-life,
low-cost
processing
center
at
its
King
of
the
Hills
(KOTH)
Project
in
Western
Australia.
However,
its
share
price
came
under
pressure
due
to
multiple
factors.
First,
it
became
clear
the
company
may
need
additional
funds
to
cover
working
capital
given
lower
gold
prices;
and
second,
COVID-19-related
delays
in
May
and
June
2022
threatened
the
company’s
ability
to
make
debt
repayments
that
were
coming
due
in
December.
Trading
of
the
stock
was
halted
on
the
last
trading
day
of
September,
though
it
resumed
after
Red
5
announced
an
AU$60
million
equity
raise
on
the
first
trading
day
of
October.
Although
slightly
behind
schedule,
the
KOTH
mine
operated
well,
with
the
mill
reaching
commercial
production
in
December.
A
KOTH
process
plant
and
open
pit
mine
expansion
were
already
underway,
highlighting
that
this
will
be
a
major
new
processing
center
in
the
Leonora
region
for
decades,
in
our
view.
Shares
of
Pantoro,
an
Australian
gold
producer
currently
ramping
up
their
second
gold
mine
in
Australia,
traded
lower
as
operating
conditions
remained
challenging
in
Western
Australia.
The
company
raised
AU$28.5
million
in
an
October
2022
placement
to
add
to
working
capital
and
cover
any
cost
overruns
as
its
new
Norseman
mine
ramps
up,
but
in
January
2023
they
made
the
difficult
decision
to
move
the
Halls
Creek
mine
into
care
and
maintenance
status
(closing
the
site
with
the
option
of
reopening
it
in
the
future).
Pantoro
and
Tulla
Resources
(also
a
Fund
holding)—each
50%
owners
of
the
Norseman
mine—confirmed
they
were
in
discussion
to
consolidate
the
camp
but
had
not
finalized
a
deal
as
of
period-end.
Small
single-asset
miners
are
typically
more
sensitive
to
gold
prices
and
company-specific
setbacks
than
their
larger
and
more
diversified
counterparts,
as
was
the
case
with
Pure
Gold.
Pure
Gold,
whose
operations
are
centered
on
a
47-square-kilometer
property
in
Red
Lake,
Ontario,
suffered
a
severe
selloff
despite
an
announced
step-up
in
gold
output
during
2022’s
third
quarter.
Its
sole
asset,
the
PureGold
Mine,
was
forced
to
suspend
on-site
operations
in
October
and
put
the
company
into
CCAA,
the
Canadian
equivalent
to
U.S.
bankruptcy.
Company
management
placed
the
mine
on
Top
10
Holdings
1/31/23
Company
Sub-Industry
%
of
Total
Net
Assets
a
a
Endeavour
Mining
plc
5.3%
Gold
Barrick
Gold
Corp.
5.3%
Gold
Alamos
Gold,
Inc.
4.1%
Gold
Newcrest
Mining
Ltd.
4.1%
Gold
Perseus
Mining
Ltd.
4.0%
Gold
SSR
Mining,
Inc.
3.7%
Gold
Newmont
Corp.
3.1%
Gold
Impala
Platinum
Holdings
Ltd.
2.8%
Precious
Metals
&
Minerals
Red
5
Ltd.
2.6%
Gold
Orla
Mining
Ltd.
2.6%
Gold
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
7
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
care
and
maintenance
and
withdrew
its
financial
guidance
through
year-end
2022.
This
decision
followed
the
evaluation
of
several
potential
alternative
scenarios
and
became
necessary
because
the
mine
has
not
yet
achieved
consistent
positive
site-level
cash
flow,
notwithstanding
recent
site
optimizations,
reductions
in
operating
costs
and
sequential
quarter-over-quarter
increases
in
production.
Thank
you
for
your
continued
participation
in
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund.
We
look
forward
to
serving
your
future
investment
needs.
Stephen
M.
Land,
CFA
Lead
Portfolio
Manager
Frederick
G.
Fromm,
CFA
Portfolio
Manager
The
foregoing
information
reflects
our
analysis,
opinions
and
portfolio
holdings
as
of
January
31,
2023,
the
end
of
the
reporting
period.
The
way
we
implement
our
main
investment
strategies
and
the
resulting
portfolio
holdings
may
change
depending
on
factors
such
as
market
and
economic
conditions.
These
opinions
may
not
be
relied
upon
as
investment
advice
or
an
offer
for
a
particular
security.
The
information
is
not
a
complete
analysis
of
every
aspect
of
any
market,
country,
industry,
security
or
the
Fund.
Statements
of
fact
are
from
sources
considered
reliable,
but
the
investment
manager
makes
no
representation
or
warranty
as
to
their
completeness
or
accuracy.
Although
historical
performance
is
no
guarantee
of
future
results,
these
insights
may
help
you
understand
our
investment
management
philosophy.
Performance
Summary
as
of
January
31,
2023
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
8
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
The
performance
table
does
not
reflect
any
taxes
that
a
shareholder
would
pay
on
Fund
dividends,
capital
gain
distributions,
if
any,
or
any
realized
gains
on
the
sale
of
Fund
shares.
Total
return
reflects
reinvestment
of
the
Fund’s
dividends
and
capital
gain
distributions,
if
any,
and
any
unrealized
gains
or
losses.
Your
dividend
income
will
vary
depending
on
dividends
or
interest
paid
by
securities
in
the
Fund’s
portfolio,
adjusted
for
operating
expenses
of
each
class.
Capital
gain
distributions
are
net
profits
realized
from
the
sale
of
portfolio
securities.
Performance
as
of
1/31/23
1
Cumulative
total
return
excludes
sales
charges.
Average
annual
total
return
includes
maximum
sales
charges.
Sales
charges
will
vary
depending
on
the
size
of
the
investment
and
the
class
of
share
purchased.
The
maximum
is
5.50%
and
the
minimum
is
0%.
Class
A
:
5.50%
maximum
initial
sales
charge;
Advisor
Class:
no
sales
charges.
For
other
share
classes,
visit
franklintempleton.com.
Performance
data
represent
past
performance,
which
does
not
guarantee
future
results.
Investment
return
and
principal
value
will
fluctuate,
and
you
may
have
a
gain
or
loss
when
you
sell
your
shares.
Current
performance
may
differ
from
figures
shown.
For
most
recent
month-end
performance,
go
to
franklintempleton.com
or
call
(800)
342-5236
.
Share
Class
Cumulative
Total
Return
2
Average
Annual
Total
Return
3
–
A
4
6-Month
+13.17%
+6.97%
1-Year
-9.68%
-14.67%
5-Year
+44.92%
+6.49%
10-Year
-13.94%
-2.04%
Advisor
6-Month
+13.30%
+13.30%
1-Year
-9.46%
-9.46%
5-Year
+46.69%
+7.96%
10-Year
-11.77%
-1.24%
See
page
9
for
Performance
Summary
footnotes.
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Performance
Summary
9
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
Each
class
of
shares
is
available
to
certain
eligible
investors
and
has
different
annual
fees
and
expenses,
as
described
in
the
prospectus.
All
investments
involve
risks,
including
possible
loss
of
principal.
The
Fund
concentrates
in
the
precious
metals
sector,
which
involves
fluctuations
in
the
prices
of
gold
and
other
precious
metals
and
increased
susceptibility
to
adverse
economic
and
regulatory
developments
affecting
the
sector.
In
times
of
stable
econom-
ic
growth,
traditional
equity
and
debt
investments
could
offer
greater
appreciation
potential
and
the
prices
of
gold
and
other
precious
metals
may
be
adversely
affected.
In
addition,
the
Fund
is
subject
to
the
risks
of
currency
fluctuation
and
political
uncertainty
associated
with
foreign
(non-U.S.)
investing.
Investments
in
emerging
and
frontier
markets
involve
heightened
risks
related
to
the
same
factors,
in
addition
to
those
associated
with
their
relatively
small
size
and
lesser
liquidity.
The
Fund
may
also
heavily
invest
in
smaller
companies,
which
can
be
particularly
sensitive
to
changing
economic
conditions,
and
their
prospects
for
growth
are
less
certain
than
those
of
larger,
more
established
companies.
Investing
in
a
non-diversified
fund
involves
the
risk
of
greater
price
fluctuation
than
a
more
diversified
portfolio.
The
manager’s
portfolio
selection
strategy
is
not
solely
based
on
ESG
considerations,
and
therefore
the
issuers
in
which
the
Fund
invests
may
not
be
considered
ESG-focused
companies.
Integrating
ESG
considerations
into
the
investment
process
is
not
a
guarantee
that
better
performance
will
be
achieved.
Events
such
as
the
spread
of
deadly
diseases,
disasters,
and
financial,
political
or
social
disruptions,
may
heighten
risks
and
adversely
affect
performance.
The
Fund’s
prospectus
also
includes
a
description
of
the
main
investment
risks.
Russia’s
military
invasion
of
Ukraine
in
February
2022,
the
resulting
responses
by
the
United
States
and
other
countries,
and
the
potential
for
wider
conflict
could
increase
volatility
and
uncertainty
in
the
financial
markets
and
adversely
affect
regional
and
global
economies.
The
United
States
and
other
countries
have
im-
posed
broad-ranging
economic
sanctions
on
Russia
and
certain
Russian
individuals,
banking
entities
and
corporations
as
a
response
to
its
invasion
of
Ukraine.
The
United
States
and
other
countries
have
also
imposed
economic
sanctions
on
Belarus
and
may
impose
sanctions
on
other
countries
that
support
Russia’s
military
invasion.
These
sanctions,
as
well
as
any
other
economic
consequences
related
to
the
invasion,
such
as
additional
sanctions,
boycotts
or
changes
in
consumer
or
purchaser
preferences
or
cyberattacks
on
governments,
companies
or
individuals,
may
further
decrease
the
value
and
liquidity
of
certain
Russian
securities
and
securities
of
issuers
in
other
countries
that
are
subject
to
economic
sanctions
related
to
the
invasion.
1.
The
total
annual
operating
expenses
are
as
of
the
Fund's
prospectus
available
at
the
time
of
publication.
Actual
expenses
may
be
higher
and
may
impact
portfolio
returns.
2.
Cumulative
total
return
represents
the
change
in
value
of
an
investment
over
the
periods
indicated.
3.
Average
annual
total
return
represents
the
average
annual
change
in
value
of
an
investment
over
the
periods
indicated.
Return
for
less
than
one
year,
if
any,
has
not
been
annualized.
4.
Prior
to
9/10/18
these
shares
were
offered
at
a
higher
initial
sales
charge
of
5.75%,
thus
actual
returns
(with
sales
charges)
would
have
differed.
Average
annual
total
returns
(with
sales
charges)
have
been
restated
to
reflect
the
current
maximum
initial
sales
charge
of
5.50%.
5.
Figures
are
as
stated
in
the
Fund’s
current
prospectus
and
may
differ
from
the
expense
ratios
disclosed
in
the
Your
Fund’s
Expenses
and
Financial
Highlights
sections
in
this
report.
In
periods
of
market
volatility,
assets
may
decline
significantly,
causing
total
annual
Fund
operating
expenses
to
become
higher
than
the
figures
shown.
See
www.franklintempletondatasources.com
for
additional
data
provider
information.
Total
Annual
Operating
Expenses
5
Share
Class
A
0.88%
Advisor
0.63%
Your
Fund’s
Expenses
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
10
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
As
a
Fund
shareholder,
you
can
incur
two
types
of
costs:
(1)
transaction
costs,
including
sales
charges
(loads)
on
Fund
purchases
and
redemptions;
and
(2)
ongoing
Fund
costs,
including
management
fees,
distribution
and
service
(12b-1)
fees,
and
other
Fund
expenses.
All
mutual
funds
have
ongoing
costs,
sometimes
referred
to
as
operating
expenses.
The
table
below
shows
ongoing
costs
of
investing
in
the
Fund
and
can
help
you
understand
these
costs
and
compare
them
with
those
of
other
mutual
funds.
The
table
assumes
a
$1,000
investment
held
for
the
six
months
indicated.
Actual
Fund
Expenses
The
table
below
provides
information
about
actual
account
values
and
actual
expenses
in
the
columns
under
the
heading
“Actual.”
In
these
columns
the
Fund’s
actual
return,
which
includes
the
effect
of
Fund
expenses,
is
used
to
calculate
the
“Ending
Account
Value”
for
each
class
of
shares.
You
can
estimate
the
expenses
you
paid
during
the
period
by
following
these
steps
(
of
course,
your
account
value
and
expenses
will
differ
from
those
in
this
illustration
):
Divide
your
account
value
by
$1,000
(
if
your
account
had
an
$8,600
value,
then
$8,600
÷
$1,000
=
8.6
).
Then
multiply
the
result
by
the
number
in
the
row
for
your
class
of
shares
under
the
headings
“Actual”
and
“Expenses
Paid
During
Period”
(
if
Actual
Expenses
Paid
During
Period
were
$7.50,
then
8.6
x
$7.50
=
$64.50
).
In
this
illustration,
the
actual
expenses
paid
this
period
are
$64.50.
Hypothetical
Example
for
Comparison
with
Other
Funds
Under
the
heading
“Hypothetical”
in
the
table,
information
is
provided
about
hypothetical
account
values
and
hypothetical
expenses
based
on
the
Fund’s
actual
expense
ratio
and
an
assumed
rate
of
return
of
5%
per
year
before
expenses,
which
is
not
the
Fund’s
actual
return.
This
information
may
not
be
used
to
estimate
the
actual
ending
account
balance
or
expenses
you
paid
for
the
period,
but
it
can
help
you
compare
ongoing
costs
of
investing
in
the
Fund
with
those
of
other
funds.
To
do
so,
compare
this
5%
hypothetical
example
for
the
class
of
shares
you
hold
with
the
5%
hypothetical
examples
that
appear
in
the
shareholder
reports
of
other
funds.
Please
note
that
expenses
shown
in
the
table
are
meant
to
highlight
ongoing
costs
and
do
not
reflect
any
transactional
costs.
Therefore,
information
under
the
heading
“Hypothetical”
is
useful
in
comparing
ongoing
costs
only,
and
will
not
help
you
compare
total
costs
of
owning
different
funds.
In
addition,
if
transactional
costs
were
included,
your
total
costs
would
have
been
higher.
1.
Expenses
are
equal
to
the
annualized
expense
ratio
for
the
six-month
period
as
indicated
above—in
the
far
right
column—multiplied
by
the
simple
average
account
value
over
the
period
indicated,
and
then
multiplied
by
184/365
to
reflect
the
one-half
year
period.
2.
Reflects
expenses
after
fee
waivers
and
expense
reimbursements.
Does
not
include
acquired
fund
fees
and
expenses.
Actual
(actual
return
after
expenses)
Hypothetical
(5%
annual
return
before
expenses)
Share
Class
Beginning
Account
Value
8/1/22
Ending
Account
Value
1/31/23
Expenses
Paid
During
Period
8/1/22–1/31/23
1,2
Ending
Account
Value
1/31/23
Expenses
Paid
During
Period
8/1/22–1/31/23
1,2
a
Net
Annualized
Expense
Ratio
2
A
$1,000
$1,131.70
$5.21
$1,020.32
$4.94
0.97%
C
$1,000
$1,127.60
$9.21
$1,016.54
$8.73
1.72%
R6
$1,000
$1,134.00
$3.01
$1,022.39
$2.85
0.56%
Advisor
$1,000
$1,133.00
$3.87
$1,021.58
$3.67
0.72%
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Financial
Highlights
franklintempleton.com
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
11
a
Six
Months
Ended
January
31,
2023
(unaudited)
Year
Ended
July
31,
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
Class
A
Per
share
operating
performance
(for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period)
Net
asset
value,
beginning
of
period
.....
$16.40
$24.23
$28.04
$16.68
$13.56
$16.19
Income
from
investment
operations
a
:
Net
investment
income
(loss)
b
........
0.06
0.13
0.04
(0.04)
(0.02)
(0.06)
Net
realized
and
unrealized
gains
(losses)
2.10
(5.90)
(1.20)
11.40
3.14
(2.51)
Total
from
investment
operations
........
2.16
(5.77)
(1.16)
11.36
3.12
(2.57)
Less
distributions
from:
Net
investment
income
..............
—
(2.06)
(2.65)
—
—
(0.06)
Net
asset
value,
end
of
period
..........
$18.56
$16.40
$24.23
$28.04
$16.68
$13.56
Total
return
c
.......................
13.17%
(25.63)%
(3.80)%
68.05%
23.01%
(15.92)%
Ratios
to
average
net
assets
d
Expenses
e
........................
0.97%
f
0.88%
0.90%
f
0.93%
f
0.98%
f
1.02%
f
Net
investment
income
(loss)
..........
0.76%
0.58%
0.17%
(0.20)%
(0.15)%
(0.37)%
Supplemental
data
Net
assets,
end
of
period
(000’s)
........
$726,579
$656,071
$921,127
$938,555
$645,108
$587,294
Portfolio
turnover
rate
................
4.90%
17.60%
18.91%
17.00%
12.82%
8.36%
a
The
amount
shown
for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period
may
not
correlate
with
the
Statement
of
Operations
for
the
period
due
to
the
timing
of
sales
and
repurchases
of
the
Fund’s
shares
in
relation
to
income
earned
and/or
fluctuating
fair
value
of
the
investments
of
the
Fund.
b
Based
on
average
daily
shares
outstanding.
c
Total
return
does
not
reflect
sales
commissions
or
contingent
deferred
sales
charges,
if
applicable,
and
is
not
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
d
Ratios
are
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
e
Benefit
of
waiver
and
payments
by
affiliates
rounds
to
less
than
0.01%.
f
Benefit
of
expense
reduction
rounds
to
less
than
0.01%.
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Financial
Highlights
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
12
a
Six
Months
Ended
January
31,
2023
(unaudited)
Year
Ended
July
31,
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
Class
C
Per
share
operating
performance
(for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period)
Net
asset
value,
beginning
of
period
.....
$14.50
$21.71
$25.42
$15.24
$12.49
$14.96
Income
from
investment
operations
a
:
Net
investment
income
(loss)
b
........
—
c
(0.03)
(0.13)
(0.16)
(0.11)
(0.15)
Net
realized
and
unrealized
gains
(losses)
1.85
(5.23)
(1.09)
10.34
2.86
(2.32)
Total
from
investment
operations
........
1.85
(5.26)
(1.22)
10.18
2.75
(2.47)
Less
distributions
from:
Net
investment
income
..............
—
(1.95)
(2.49)
—
—
—
Net
asset
value,
end
of
period
..........
$16.35
$14.50
$21.71
$25.42
$15.24
$12.49
Total
return
d
.......................
12.76%
(26.18)%
(4.53)%
66.80%
22.02%
(16.51)%
Ratios
to
average
net
assets
e
Expenses
f
.........................
1.72%
g
1.63%
1.65%
g
1.68%
g
1.73%
g
1.77%
g
Net
investment
income
(loss)
..........
0.05%
(0.17)%
(0.59)%
(0.94)%
(0.90)%
(1.12)%
Supplemental
data
Net
assets,
end
of
period
(000’s)
........
$59,826
$58,538
$93,615
$106,271
$75,129
$94,997
Portfolio
turnover
rate
................
4.90%
17.60%
18.91%
17.00%
12.82%
8.36%
a
The
amount
shown
for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period
may
not
correlate
with
the
Statement
of
Operations
for
the
period
due
to
the
timing
of
sales
and
repurchases
of
the
Fund’s
shares
in
relation
to
income
earned
and/or
fluctuating
fair
value
of
the
investments
of
the
Fund.
b
Based
on
average
daily
shares
outstanding.
c
Amount
rounds
to
less
than
$0.01
per
share.
d
Total
return
does
not
reflect
sales
commissions
or
contingent
deferred
sales
charges,
if
applicable,
and
is
not
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
e
Ratios
are
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
f
Benefit
of
waiver
and
payments
by
affiliates
rounds
to
less
than
0.01%.
g
Benefit
of
expense
reduction
rounds
to
less
than
0.01%.
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Financial
Highlights
franklintempleton.com
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
13
a
Six
Months
Ended
January
31,
2023
(unaudited)
Year
Ended
July
31,
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
Class
R6
Per
share
operating
performance
(for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period)
Net
asset
value,
beginning
of
period
.....
$17.98
$26.32
$30.20
$17.90
$14.50
$17.31
Income
from
investment
operations
a
:
Net
investment
income
b
.............
0.10
0.22
0.13
0.03
0.04
0.01
Net
realized
and
unrealized
gains
(losses)
2.31
(6.45)
(1.28)
12.27
3.36
(2.68)
Total
from
investment
operations
........
2.41
(6.23)
(1.15)
12.30
3.40
(2.67)
Less
distributions
from:
Net
investment
income
..............
—
(2.11)
(2.73)
—
—
(0.14)
Net
asset
value,
end
of
period
..........
$20.39
$17.98
$26.32
$30.20
$17.90
$14.50
Total
return
c
.......................
13.40%
(25.36)%
(3.46)%
68.66%
23.45%
(15.50)%
Ratios
to
average
net
assets
d
Expenses
before
waiver
and
payments
by
affiliates
..........................
0.69%
0.64%
0.69%
0.72%
0.83%
0.79%
Expenses
net
of
waiver
and
payments
by
affiliates
..........................
0.56%
e
0.52%
0.56%
e
0.56%
e
0.58%
e
0.55%
e
Net
investment
income
...............
1.10%
0.94%
0.49%
0.17%
0.25%
0.10%
Supplemental
data
Net
assets,
end
of
period
(000’s)
........
$39,217
$30,969
$25,458
$20,574
$10,808
$8,153
Portfolio
turnover
rate
................
4.90%
17.60%
18.91%
17.00%
12.82%
8.36%
a
The
amount
shown
for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period
may
not
correlate
with
the
Statement
of
Operations
for
the
period
due
to
the
timing
of
sales
and
repurchases
of
the
Fund’s
shares
in
relation
to
income
earned
and/or
fluctuating
fair
value
of
the
investments
of
the
Fund.
b
Based
on
average
daily
shares
outstanding.
c
Total
return
is
not
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
d
Ratios
are
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
e
Benefit
of
expense
reduction
rounds
to
less
than
0.01%.
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Financial
Highlights
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
14
a
Six
Months
Ended
January
31,
2023
(unaudited)
Year
Ended
July
31,
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
Advisor
Class
Per
share
operating
performance
(for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period)
Net
asset
value,
beginning
of
period
.....
$17.74
$26.00
$29.88
$17.73
$14.38
$17.17
Income
from
investment
operations
a
:
Net
investment
income
(loss)
b
........
0.09
0.20
0.11
0.01
0.01
(0.02)
Net
realized
and
unrealized
gains
(losses)
2.27
(6.36)
(1.28)
12.14
3.34
(2.67)
Total
from
investment
operations
........
2.36
(6.16)
(1.17)
12.15
3.35
(2.69)
Less
distributions
from:
Net
investment
income
..............
—
(2.10)
(2.71)
—
—
(0.10)
Net
asset
value,
end
of
period
..........
$20.10
$17.74
$26.00
$29.88
$17.73
$14.38
Total
return
c
.......................
13.30%
(25.42)%
(3.59)%
68.47%
23.30%
(15.70)%
Ratios
to
average
net
assets
d
Expenses
e
........................
0.72%
f
0.63%
0.65%
f
0.68%
f
0.73%
f
0.77%
f
Net
investment
income
(loss)
..........
1.01%
0.84%
0.41%
0.05%
0.10%
(0.12)%
Supplemental
data
Net
assets,
end
of
period
(000’s)
........
$269,789
$239,115
$307,110
$280,317
$143,589
$130,812
Portfolio
turnover
rate
................
4.90%
17.60%
18.91%
17.00%
12.82%
8.36%
a
The
amount
shown
for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period
may
not
correlate
with
the
Statement
of
Operations
for
the
period
due
to
the
timing
of
sales
and
repurchases
of
the
Fund’s
shares
in
relation
to
income
earned
and/or
fluctuating
fair
value
of
the
investments
of
the
Fund.
b
Based
on
average
daily
shares
outstanding.
c
Total
return
is
not
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
d
Ratios
are
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
e
Benefit
of
waiver
and
payments
by
affiliates
rounds
to
less
than
0.01%.
f
Benefit
of
expense
reduction
rounds
to
less
than
0.01%.
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited),
January
31,
2023
franklintempleton.com
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
15
a
a
Country
Shares
a
Value
a
Common
Stocks
99.2%
Copper
0.7%
a,b
Imperial
Metals
Corp.
..................................
Canada
2,065,330
$
3,430,574
a
SolGold
plc,
(CAD
Traded)
..............................
Australia
10,650,000
2,241,263
a
SolGold
plc,
(GBP
Traded)
..............................
Australia
10,650,000
2,127,362
a
Vizsla
Copper
Corp.
...................................
Canada
528,571
119,182
7,918,381
Diversified
Metals
&
Mining
9.8%
a
Aclara
Resources,
Inc.
.................................
United
Kingdom
444,972
148,826
a
Adventus
Mining
Corp.
.................................
Canada
3,350,000
1,309,282
a
Adventus
Mining
Corp.
.................................
Canada
500,000
195,415
a,c
Adventus
Mining
Corp.,
144A
............................
Canada
4,500,000
1,758,738
a
Arizona
Metals
Corp.
...................................
Canada
150,000
472,379
a,c
Arizona
Metals
Corp.,
144A
..............................
Canada
1,244,000
3,917,595
a
Aston
Minerals
Ltd.
....................................
Australia
25,000,000
1,663,484
a
Azimut
Exploration,
Inc.
.................................
Canada
1,950,000
2,051,860
a
Bluestone
Resources,
Inc.
...............................
Canada
550,000
231,492
a,c
Bluestone
Resources,
Inc.,
144A
..........................
Canada
6,800,000
2,862,082
a
Bravo
Mining
Corp.
....................................
Canada
2,880,000
5,498,083
a
Chalice
Mining
Ltd.
....................................
Australia
3,724,965
17,173,645
a,d
Clean
Air
Metals,
Inc.
..................................
Canada
10,315,600
891,615
a,c,d
Euro
Sun
Mining,
Inc.,
144A
.............................
Canada
10,000,000
563,698
a,c
G
Mining
Ventures
Corp.,
144A
...........................
Canada
18,750,000
11,978,580
a
Ivanhoe
Electric,
Inc.
...................................
United
States
306,000
4,054,500
a,c
Ivanhoe
Mines
Ltd.,
144A
...............................
Canada
2,035,000
19,118,752
a,d,e,f
Magna
Mining,
Inc.
....................................
Canada
2,210,000
1,478,969
a
Matador
Mining
Ltd.
...................................
Australia
10,813,044
802,564
a,d
Max
Resource
Corp.
...................................
Canada
6,000,000
1,059,752
a
OreCorp
Ltd.
.........................................
Australia
8,684,200
2,635,982
a
Prime
Mining
Corp.
....................................
Canada
1,300,000
2,051,860
a,b
Prime
Mining
Corp.
....................................
Canada
2,200,000
3,472,379
a,e,f
Prime
Mining
Corp.
....................................
Canada
545,000
802,351
a,b
Sunrise
Energy
Metals
Ltd.
..............................
Australia
1,359,999
1,686,975
a,d
Talisker
Resources
Ltd.
.................................
Canada
26,400,000
2,281,849
a,b
Vizsla
Silver
Corp.
.....................................
Canada
5,550,000
6,715,897
a
Vizsla
Silver
Corp.
.....................................
Canada
3,000,000
3,630,214
a,b
Western
Copper
&
Gold
Corp.
............................
Canada
2,430,000
4,438,106
a
Western
Copper
&
Gold
Corp.
............................
Canada
930,000
1,698,534
106,645,458
Environmental
&
Facilities
Services
0.0%
†
a
Clean
TeQ
Water
Ltd.
..................................
Australia
679,999
204,005
a
Gold
79.4%
Agnico
Eagle
Mines
Ltd.,
(CAD
Traded)
.....................
Canada
405,859
22,920,891
Agnico
Eagle
Mines
Ltd.,
(USD
Traded)
.....................
Canada
15,000
847,200
Alamos
Gold,
Inc.,
(CAD
Traded),
A
........................
Canada
2,373,316
26,185,854
Alamos
Gold,
Inc.,
(USD
Traded),
A
........................
Canada
1,744,500
19,259,280
AngloGold
Ashanti
Ltd.,
ADR
.............................
Australia
1,269,823
26,691,679
a
Artemis
Gold,
Inc.
.....................................
Canada
3,720,000
13,252,762
a,c,d
Ascot
Resources
Ltd.,
144A
.............................
Canada
22,220,000
12,024,352
a,b,c,d
Ascot
Resources
Ltd.,
144A
.............................
Canada
6,500,000
3,517,475
a,b,d
Auteco
Minerals
Ltd.
...................................
Australia
116,057,775
4,683,990
B2Gold
Corp.
........................................
Canada
6,883,694
27,265,740
a,d
Banyan
Gold
Corp.
....................................
Canada
18,417,629
6,506,039
a,d,e,f
Banyan
Gold
Corp.,
144A
...............................
Canada
1,750,000
580,992
Barrick
Gold
Corp.
....................................
Canada
2,942,383
57,523,588
a
Bellevue
Gold
Ltd.
.....................................
Australia
14,944,000
12,680,388
a
Belo
Sun
Mining
Corp.
.................................
Canada
3,500,000
210,447
a,c
Belo
Sun
Mining
Corp.,
144A
.............................
Canada
3,800,000
228,486
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
16
a
a
Country
Shares
a
Value
a
Common
Stocks
(continued)
Gold
(continued)
a
Black
Cat
Syndicate
Ltd.
................................
Australia
11,522,800
$
3,056,409
a
Bonterra
Resources,
Inc.
................................
Canada
3,500,000
881,248
a
Breaker
Resources
NL
.................................
Australia
16,000,000
3,517,916
Centamin
plc
.........................................
Egypt
13,615,200
18,663,859
Centerra
Gold,
Inc.
....................................
Canada
3,200
20,540
c
Centerra
Gold,
Inc.,
144A
...............................
Canada
2,825,900
18,138,434
a,b
Cerrado
Gold,
Inc.
.....................................
Canada
2,800,000
1,978,204
a
De
Grey
Mining
Ltd.
...................................
Australia
5,000,000
5,298,850
Dundee
Precious
Metals,
Inc.
............................
Canada
3,157,415
20,622,275
a
Eldorado
Gold
Corp.
...................................
Turkey
1,658,724
15,882,859
a
Emerald
Resources
NL
.................................
Australia
16,820,000
16,389,636
Endeavour
Mining
plc
..................................
Burkina
Faso
2,442,114
57,542,483
a,d
Falcon
Metals
Ltd.
.....................................
Australia
9,225,414
1,700,185
a,e
Firefinch
Ltd.
.........................................
Australia
18,028,500
763,579
a
First
Mining
Gold
Corp.
.................................
Canada
7,500,000
1,155,581
a
Galiano
Gold,
Inc.
.....................................
Canada
9,264,362
5,640,085
a,e
Gascoyne
Resources
Ltd.
...............................
Australia
3,690,800
355,628
a,b
Genesis
Minerals
Ltd.
..................................
Australia
6,298,509
5,674,386
a,d
Geopacific
Resources
Ltd.
..............................
Australia
38,375,694
760,369
Gold
Fields
Ltd.
.......................................
South
Africa
529,800
6,040,688
a,d
Gold
Mountain
Mining
Corp.
.............................
Canada
2,050,000
192,597
a,d
Gold
Mountain
Mining
Corp.
.............................
Canada
3,900,000
366,403
a,d
HighGold
Mining,
Inc.
..................................
Canada
4,803,000
2,563,044
Hochschild
Mining
plc
..................................
Peru
2,038,520
1,722,106
a
i-80
Gold
Corp.
.......................................
Canada
2,015,000
5,406,652
a,c
i-80
Gold
Corp.,
144A
..................................
Canada
675,000
1,811,161
a,d
Integra
Resources
Corp.,
(CAD
Traded)
....................
Canada
2,260,000
1,528,749
a,d
Integra
Resources
Corp.,
(USD
Traded)
....................
Canada
1,850,000
1,258,187
a
K92
Mining,
Inc.
......................................
Canada
1,300,000
7,523,487
a,d
Liberty
Gold
Corp.
.....................................
Canada
16,329,800
7,854,996
a,c,d
Liberty
Gold
Corp.,
144A
................................
Canada
2,600,000
1,250,658
a
Lion
One
Metals
Ltd.
...................................
Canada
4,312,400
2,949,481
a,c
Lion
One
Metals
Ltd.,
144A
..............................
Canada
4,024,000
2,752,228
a,e,f
Lydian
International
Ltd.
................................
Jersey
6,375,000
—
a,e,f
Lydian
International
Ltd.,
144A
...........................
Jersey
25,250,000
—
a
Marathon
Gold
Corp.
...................................
Canada
10,613,000
8,136,234
a,d
Mawson
Gold
Ltd.
.....................................
Canada
18,100,000
3,468,997
c
Mineros
SA,
144A
.....................................
Colombia
4,115,000
2,474,258
a,d
Monarch
Mining
Corp.
..................................
Canada
6,000,000
360,767
a,d,e,f
Monarch
Mining
Corp.,
144A
.............................
Canada
9,500,000
507,224
a,b
Moneta
Gold,
Inc.
.....................................
Canada
2,000,000
2,390,079
a,d
Newcore
Gold
Ltd.
....................................
Canada
9,200,000
1,866,967
Newcrest
Mining
Ltd.,
(AUD
Traded)
.......................
Australia
2,501,914
39,756,011
Newcrest
Mining
Ltd.,
(CAD
Traded)
.......................
Australia
301,129
4,780,041
Newmont
Corp.
.......................................
United
States
634,614
33,590,119
a,b,d
Nighthawk
Gold
Corp.
..................................
Canada
5,761,000
1,905,178
Northern
Star
Resources
Ltd.
............................
Australia
1,042,254
9,287,693
a,d
O3
Mining,
Inc.
.......................................
Canada
5,100,000
6,018,038
a
OceanaGold
Corp.
....................................
Australia
9,063,488
19,618,824
a
Ora
Banda
Mining
Ltd.
.................................
Australia
26,707,692
1,646,589
a
Orla
Mining
Ltd.
......................................
Canada
4,490,653
19,373,430
a,c
Orla
Mining
Ltd.,
144A
..................................
Canada
2,000,000
8,628,335
a,c
Osisko
Development
Corp.,
144A
.........................
Canada
960,849
5,697,932
a
Osisko
Mining,
Inc.
....................................
Canada
7,600,000
21,363,397
a,d
Pantoro
Ltd.
.........................................
Australia
112,613,794
7,585,142
a,c
Perpetua
Resources
Corp.,
144A
.........................
United
States
403,000
1,441,774
Perseus
Mining
Ltd.
...................................
Australia
28,558,141
43,390,877
a
Predictive
Discovery
Ltd.
................................
Australia
59,751,010
7,824,390
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
franklintempleton.com
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
17
a
a
Country
Shares
a
Value
a
Common
Stocks
(continued)
Gold
(continued)
a
Probe
Gold,
Inc.
......................................
Canada
705,000
$
858,399
a,c
Probe
Gold,
Inc.,
144A
.................................
Canada
5,200,000
6,331,454
a,c
Pure
Gold
Mining,
Inc.,
144A
.............................
Canada
26,000,000
390,830
a,d
Red
5
Ltd.
...........................................
Australia
187,628,277
28,006,360
a
Resolute
Mining
Ltd.
...................................
Australia
29,033,333
5,650,675
a
Reunion
Gold
Corp.
...................................
Canada
13,000,000
3,761,744
a,d
RTG
Mining,
Inc.
......................................
Australia
1,769,918
73,165
a,c,d
RTG
Mining,
Inc.,
144A
.................................
Australia
2,397,790
99,119
a,d
RTG
Mining,
Inc.,
CDI
..................................
Australia
64,487,582
2,812,005
a,d
Saturn
Metals
Ltd.
.....................................
Australia
10,339,999
1,248,787
a,b
Skeena
Resources
Ltd.
.................................
Canada
2,074,800
12,366,151
a
Skeena
Resources
Ltd.
.................................
Canada
118,750
707,770
a
Southern
Cross
Gold
Ltd.
...............................
Canada
4,200,000
1,926,448
SSR
Mining,
Inc.
......................................
Canada
2,381,555
40,238,524
a
St.
Augustine
Gold
and
Copper
Ltd.,
(CAD
Traded)
............
United
States
5,137,336
270,284
a,c
St.
Augustine
Gold
and
Copper
Ltd.,
(CAD
Traded),
144A
.......
United
States
16,383,333
861,957
a,c
St.
Augustine
Gold
and
Copper
Ltd.,
(USD
Traded),
144A
.......
United
States
10,000,000
526,118
a
St.
Barbara
Ltd.
.......................................
Australia
9,008,021
4,864,567
a
Superior
Gold,
Inc.
....................................
Canada
500,000
99,587
a,c
Superior
Gold,
Inc.,
144A
...............................
Canada
5,350,000
1,065,577
a
Thesis
Gold,
Inc.
......................................
Canada
2,975,000
2,012,401
a,c
Torex
Gold
Resources,
Inc.,
144A
.........................
Canada
1,430,000
19,657,798
a
Troilus
Gold
Corp.
.....................................
Canada
8,900,000
4,816,234
a
Tulla
Resources
plc,
CDI
................................
Australia
15,300,000
4,017,777
a
Victoria
Gold
Corp.
....................................
Canada
1,210,000
9,539,947
a
West
African
Resources
Ltd.
.............................
Australia
12,264,984
9,719,920
a
Westhaven
Gold
Corp.
.................................
Canada
1,800,000
500,564
a,d,e
Wiluna
Mining
Corp.
Ltd.
................................
Australia
19,510,000
282,328
869,460,912
Precious
Metals
&
Minerals
6.4%
Anglo
American
Platinum
Ltd.
............................
South
Africa
88,556
6,588,281
a
Aurion
Resources
Ltd.
..................................
Canada
4,500,000
2,096,956
a,d
Benchmark
Metals,
Inc.
.................................
Canada
9,790,300
3,090,512
a,d
Benchmark
Metals,
Inc.
.................................
Canada
3,500,000
1,104,848
a
Eastern
Platinum
Ltd.
..................................
Canada
1,752,490
197,575
Impala
Platinum
Holdings
Ltd.
............................
South
Africa
1,470,000
17,051,758
b
Impala
Platinum
Holdings
Ltd.,
ADR
.......................
South
Africa
1,206,100
13,966,638
a,d
Millennial
Precious
Metals
Corp.
..........................
Canada
10,168,700
1,528,553
a
Northam
Platinum
Holdings
Ltd.
..........................
South
Africa
1,019,019
9,998,619
a,b,d
Platinum
Group
Metals
Ltd.,
(CAD
Traded)
..................
South
Africa
2,042,787
3,331,716
a,d
Platinum
Group
Metals
Ltd.,
(CAD
Traded)
..................
South
Africa
1,779,911
2,902,974
a,c,d
Platinum
Group
Metals
Ltd.,
(CAD
Traded),
144A
.............
South
Africa
97,760
159,443
a,b,d
Platinum
Group
Metals
Ltd.,
(USD
Traded)
..................
South
Africa
3,441,856
5,610,225
a,c,d
Platinum
Group
Metals
Ltd.,
(USD
Traded),
144A
.............
South
Africa
36,628
59,739
a
Sable
Resources
Ltd.
..................................
Canada
12,000,000
766,629
a,d
TDG
Gold
Corp.
......................................
Canada
2,080,000
539,346
a,c,d
TDG
Gold
Corp.,
144A
.................................
Canada
4,750,000
1,231,680
70,225,492
Silver
2.9%
a
Aya
Gold
&
Silver,
Inc.
..................................
Canada
690,000
4,195,491
a
Gatos
Silver,
Inc.
......................................
United
States
447,157
2,307,330
a
GoGold
Resources,
Inc.
................................
Canada
9,262,858
15,525,121
Pan
American
Silver
Corp.
..............................
Canada
123,021
2,242,209
a,d
Silver
Mountain
Resources,
Inc.
..........................
Canada
7,300,000
1,892,897
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
18
a
a
Country
Shares
a
Value
a
Common
Stocks
(continued)
Silver
(continued)
a,c,d
Silver
Tiger
Metals,
Inc.,
144A
............................
Canada
17,500,000
$
5,787,298
31,950,346
Total
Common
Stocks
(Cost
$964,036,225)
.....................................
1,086,404,594
Rights
a
a
Rights
0.1%
Gold
0.0%
†
a,e
Kinross
Gold
Corp.,
CVR
,
2/24/32
.........................
Canada
660,000
49,605
Silver
0.1%
a
Pan
American
Silver
Corp.,
CVR
,
2/22/29
...................
Canada
1,850,600
1,165,878
Total
Rights
(Cost
$856,772)
..................................................
1,215,483
Warrants
a
a
a
Warrants
0.3%
Diversified
Metals
&
Mining
0.1%
a,e,f
Adventus
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
7/26/23
......................
Canada
1,000,000
5,218
a,d,e,f
Clean
Air
Metals,
Inc.,
144A,
2/23/23
.......................
Canada
1,379,500
—
a,d,e,f
Clean
Air
Metals,
Inc.,
144A,
2/23/24
.......................
Canada
3,600,000
10,139
a,d,e,f
Euro
Sun
Mining,
Inc.,
144A,
6/05/23
.......................
Canada
5,000,000
537
a,e,f
G
Mining
Ventures
Corp.,
144A,
8/20/24
....................
Canada
3,750,000
210,541
a,d,e,f
Max
Resource
Corp.,
144A,
10/05/23
......................
Canada
6,000,000
36
a,e,f
Prime
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
4/27/24
........................
Canada
650,000
48,818
a,e,f
Prime
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
12/22/25
.......................
Canada
545,000
292,868
a,d,e,f
Talisker
Resources
Ltd.,
144A,
1/11/25
.....................
Canada
4,500,000
91,691
a,e,f
Vizsla
Silver
Corp.,
144A,
11/15/24
........................
Canada
1,500,000
365,401
1,025,249
Gold
0.2%
a,d,e,f
Ascot
Resources
Ltd.,
144A,
3/08/24
.......................
Canada
1,650,000
122,269
a,d,e,f
Gold
Mountain
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
4/21/24
..................
Canada
1,025,000
26
a,e
Marathon
Gold
Corp.,
9/19/24
............................
Canada
3,225,000
492,093
a,d,e,f
Monarch
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
4/06/27
......................
Canada
6,000,000
52,356
a,c,d,e
Nighthawk
Gold
Corp.,
144A,
6/08/23
......................
Canada
1,630,500
130
a,d
Nighthawk
Gold
Corp.,
5/03/24
...........................
Canada
1,250,000
65,765
a
Osisko
Development
Corp.,
12/01/23
......................
Canada
737,500
138,576
a,e,f
Osisko
Development
Corp.,
144A,
3/27/27
..................
Canada
608,333
370,264
a,e,f
Probe
Gold,
Inc.,
144A,
3/08/24
...........................
Canada
900,000
85,388
a,e,f
Reunion
Gold
Corp.,
144A,
7/08/24
........................
Canada
6,500,000
421,125
a
Troilus
Gold
Corp.,
6/30/23
..............................
Canada
1,000,000
41,338
a
Westhaven
Gold
Corp.,
3/03/23
...........................
Canada
2,100,000
23,675
a,d,e
Wiluna
Mining
Corp.
Ltd.,
12/31/24
........................
Australia
9,755,000
—
1,813,005
Precious
Metals
&
Minerals
0.0%
†
a,d,e,f
Benchmark
Metals,
Inc.,
144A,
12/09/23
....................
Canada
750,000
5,284
a,d,e,f
Benchmark
Metals,
Inc.,
9/29/24
..........................
Canada
1,000,000
72,190
a,d,e,f
Millennial
Precious
Metals
Corp.,
5/18/24
...................
Canada
2,650,000
38,807
116,281
Silver
0.0%
†
a,c,d
Silver
Mountain
Resources,
Inc.,
144A,
1/31/24
...............
Canada
3,650,000
96,017
Total
Warrants
(Cost
$–)
......................................................
3,050,552
Total
Long
Term
Investments
(Cost
$964,892,997)
...............................
1,090,670,629
a
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
franklintempleton.com
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
19
Short
Term
Investments
0.9%
a
a
Country
Shares
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
a
Money
Market
Funds
0.7%
g,h
Institutional
Fiduciary
Trust
-
Money
Market
Portfolio,
3.969%
....
United
States
7,513,014
$
7,513,014
Total
Money
Market
Funds
(Cost
$7,513,014)
...................................
7,513,014
i
Investments
from
Cash
Collateral
Received
for
Loaned
Securities
0.2%
Money
Market
Funds
0.2%
g,h
Institutional
Fiduciary
Trust
-
Money
Market
Portfolio,
3.969%
....
United
States
1,852,000
1,852,000
Total
Investments
from
Cash
Collateral
Received
for
Loaned
Securities
(Cost
$1,852,000)
.................................................................
1,852,000
Total
Short
Term
Investments
(Cost
$9,365,014
)
.................................
9,365,014
a
Total
Investments
(Cost
$974,258,011)
100.5%
..................................
$1,100,035,643
Other
Assets,
less
Liabilities
(0.5)%
...........................................
(4,624,164)
Net
Assets
100.0%
...........................................................
$1,095,411,479
See
Abbreviations
on
page
37
.
†
Rounds
to
less
than
0.1%
of
net
assets.
a
Non-income
producing.
b
A
portion
or
all
of
the
security
is
on
loan
at
January
31,
2023.
See
Note
1(c).
c
Security
was
purchased
pursuant
to
Rule
144A
or
Regulation
S
under
the
Securities
Act
of
1933.
144A
securities
may
be
sold
in
transactions
exempt
from
registration
only
to
qualified
institutional
buyers
or
in
a
public
offering
registered
under
the
Securities
Act
of
1933.
Regulation
S
securities
cannot
be
sold
in
the
United
States
without
either
an
effective
registration
statement
filed
pursuant
to
the
Securities
Act
of
1933,
or
pursuant
to
an
exemption
from
registration.
At
January
31,
2023,
the
aggregate
value
of
these
securities
was
$134,431,698,
representing
12.3%
of
net
assets.
d
See
Note
11
regarding
holdings
of
5%
voting
securities.
e
Fair
valued
using
significant
unobservable
inputs.
See
Note
13
regarding
fair
value
measurements.
f
See
Note
10
regarding
restricted
securities.
g
See
Note
3(f)
regarding
investments
in
affiliated
management
investment
companies.
h
The
rate
shown
is
the
annualized
seven-day
effective
yield
at
period
end.
i
See
Note
1(c)
regarding
securities
on
loan.
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Financial
Statements
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities
January
31,
2023
(unaudited)
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
20
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Assets:
Investments
in
securities:
Cost
-
Unaffiliated
issuers
...................................................................
$699,769,513
Cost
-
Non-controlled
affiliates
(Note
3
f
and
11
)
...................................................
274,488,498
Value
-
Unaffiliated
issuers
(Includes
securities
loaned
of
$1,612,229)
.................................
$957,578,155
Value
-
Non-controlled
affiliates
(Note
3
f
and
11
)
..................................................
142,457,488
Cash
....................................................................................
67,574
Foreign
currency,
at
value
(cost
$12,144)
.........................................................
12,192
Receivables:
Investment
securities
sold
...................................................................
684,159
Capital
shares
sold
........................................................................
2,789,324
Dividends
and
interest
.....................................................................
164,411
Total
assets
..........................................................................
1,103,753,303
Liabilities:
Payables:
Investment
securities
purchased
..............................................................
15,881
Capital
shares
redeemed
...................................................................
5,156,553
Management
fees
.........................................................................
432,657
Distribution
fees
..........................................................................
204,458
Transfer
agent
fees
........................................................................
413,537
Trustees'
fees
and
expenses
.................................................................
1,648
Payable
upon
return
of
securities
loaned
(Note
1
c
)
..................................................
1,852,000
Accrued
expenses
and
other
liabilities
...........................................................
265,090
Total
liabilities
.........................................................................
8,341,824
Net
assets,
at
value
.................................................................
$1,095,411,479
Net
assets
consist
of:
Paid-in
capital
.............................................................................
$1,814,029,062
Total
distributable
earnings
(losses)
.............................................................
(718,617,583)
Net
assets,
at
value
.................................................................
$1,095,411,479
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Financial
Statements
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities
(continued)
January
31,
2023
(unaudited)
franklintempleton.com
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
21
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Class
A:
Net
assets,
at
value
.......................................................................
$726,579,227
Shares
outstanding
........................................................................
39,145,783
Net
asset
value
per
share
a
..................................................................
$18.56
Maximum
offering
price
per
share
(net
asset
value
per
share
÷
94.50%)
................................
$19.64
Class
C:
Net
assets,
at
value
.......................................................................
$59,825,858
Shares
outstanding
........................................................................
3,659,412
Net
asset
value
and
maximum
offering
price
per
share
a
.............................................
$16.35
Class
R6:
Net
assets,
at
value
.......................................................................
$39,217,017
Shares
outstanding
........................................................................
1,923,117
Net
asset
value
and
maximum
offering
price
per
share
.............................................
$20.39
Advisor
Class:
Net
assets,
at
value
.......................................................................
$269,789,377
Shares
outstanding
........................................................................
13,421,032
Net
asset
value
and
maximum
offering
price
per
share
.............................................
$20.10
a
Redemption
price
is
equal
to
net
asset
value
less
contingent
deferred
sales
charges,
if
applicable.
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Financial
Statements
Statement
of
Operations
for
the
six
months
ended
January
31,
2023
(unaudited)
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
22
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Investment
income:
Dividends:
(net
of
foreign
taxes
of
$864,344)
Unaffiliated
issuers
........................................................................
$8,062,430
Non-controlled
affiliates
(Note
3
f
and
11
)
........................................................
69,258
Income
from
securities
loaned:
Unaffiliated
entities
(net
of
fees
and
rebates)
.....................................................
110,705
Non-controlled
affiliates
(Note
3
f
)
.............................................................
41,756
Total
investment
income
...................................................................
8,284,149
Expenses:
Management
fees
(Note
3
a
)
...................................................................
2,259,577
Distribution
fees:
(Note
3c
)
Class
A
................................................................................
797,058
Class
C
................................................................................
269,968
Transfer
agent
fees:
(Note
3e
)
Class
A
................................................................................
614,058
Class
C
................................................................................
51,853
Class
R6
...............................................................................
25,653
Advisor
Class
............................................................................
225,856
Custodian
fees
(Note
4
)
......................................................................
39,032
Reports
to
shareholders
fees
..................................................................
15,390
Registration
and
filing
fees
....................................................................
64,229
Professional
fees
...........................................................................
32,304
Trustees'
fees
and
expenses
..................................................................
7,246
Interest
expense
...........................................................................
802
Other
....................................................................................
119,842
Total
expenses
.........................................................................
4,522,868
Expense
reductions
(Note
4
)
...............................................................
(3)
Expenses
waived/paid
by
affiliates
(Note
3
f
and
3
g
)
..............................................
(37,371)
Net
expenses
.........................................................................
4,485,494
Net
investment
income
................................................................
3,798,655
Realized
and
unrealized
gains
(losses):
Net
realized
gain
(loss)
from:
Investments:
Unaffiliated
issuers
......................................................................
1,506,882
Non-controlled
affiliates
(Note
3
f
and
11
)
......................................................
(8,313,788)
Foreign
currency
transactions
................................................................
(104,252)
Net
realized
gain
(loss)
..................................................................
(6,911,158)
Net
change
in
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
on:
Investments:
Unaffiliated
issuers
......................................................................
135,419,352
Non-controlled
affiliates
(Note
3
f
and
11
)
......................................................
(5,201,272)
Translation
of
other
assets
and
liabilities
denominated
in
foreign
currencies
..............................
(3,542)
Net
change
in
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
............................................
130,214,538
Net
realized
and
unrealized
gain
(loss)
............................................................
123,303,380
Net
increase
(decrease)
in
net
assets
resulting
from
operations
..........................................
$127,102,035
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Financial
Statements
Statements
of
Changes
in
Net
Assets
franklintempleton.com
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
23
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Six
Months
Ended
January
31,
2023
(unaudited)
Year
Ended
July
31,
2022
Increase
(decrease)
in
net
assets:
Operations:
Net
investment
income
.................................................
$3,798,655
$7,681,514
Net
realized
gain
(loss)
.................................................
(6,911,158)
67,809,415
Net
change
in
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
...........................
130,214,538
(415,884,719)
Net
increase
(decrease)
in
net
assets
resulting
from
operations
................
127,102,035
(340,393,790)
Distributions
to
shareholders:
Class
A
.............................................................
—
(77,236,319)
Class
C
.............................................................
—
(7,493,602)
Class
R6
............................................................
—
(2,559,248)
Advisor
Class
........................................................
—
(24,898,226)
Total
distributions
to
shareholders
..........................................
—
(112,187,395)
Capital
share
transactions:
(Note
2
)
Class
A
.............................................................
(14,493,484)
35,249,661
Class
C
.............................................................
(5,190,319)
(5,397,875)
Class
R6
............................................................
3,467,532
18,645,815
Advisor
Class
........................................................
(167,873)
41,467,076
Total
capital
share
transactions
............................................
(16,384,144)
89,964,677
Net
increase
(decrease)
in
net
assets
...................................
110,717,891
(362,616,508)
Net
assets:
Beginning
of
period
.....................................................
984,693,588
1,347,310,096
End
of
period
..........................................................
$1,095,411,479
$984,693,588
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
24
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
1.
Organization
and
Significant
Accounting
Policies
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund (Fund)
is
registered
under
the
Investment
Company
Act
of
1940
(1940
Act)
as
an
open-end
management
investment
company.
The
Fund
follows
the
accounting
and
reporting
guidance
in
Financial
Accounting
Standards
Board
(FASB)
Accounting
Standards
Codification
Topic
946,
Financial
Services
–
Investment
Companies
(ASC
946)
and
applies
the
specialized
accounting
and
reporting
guidance
in
U.S.
Generally
Accepted
Accounting
Principles
(U.S.
GAAP),
including,
but
not
limited
to,
ASC
946.
The
Fund
offers
four
classes
of
shares:
Class
A,
Class
C,
Class
R6
and
Advisor
Class.
Class
C
shares
automatically
convert
to
Class
A
shares
on
a
monthly
basis,
after
they
have
been
held
for
8
years.
Each
class
of
shares
may
differ
by
its
initial
sales
load,
contingent
deferred
sales
charges,
voting
rights
on
matters
affecting
a
single
class,
its
exchange
privilege
and
fees
due
to
differing
arrangements
for
distribution
and
transfer
agent
fees.
The
following
summarizes
the
Fund’s
significant
accounting
policies.
a.
Financial
Instrument
Valuation
The
Fund's
investments
in
financial
instruments
are
carried
at
fair
value
daily.
Fair
value
is
the
price
that
would
be
received
to
sell
an
asset
or
paid
to
transfer
a
liability
in
an
orderly
transaction
between
market
participants
on
the
measurement
date.
The
Fund
calculates
the
net
asset
value
(NAV)
per
share
each business
day as
of
4
p.m.
Eastern
time
or
the
regularly
scheduled
close
of
the
New
York
Stock
Exchange
(NYSE),
whichever
is
earlier.
Under
compliance
policies
and
procedures
approved
by
the
Fund’s
Board
of
Trustees
(the
Board),
the
Board
has
designated
the
Fund’s
investment
manager
as
the
valuation
designee
and
has
responsibility
for
oversight
of
valuation.
The
investment
manager
is
assisted
by
the
Fund’s
administrator
in
performing
this
responsibility,
including
leading
the
cross-
functional
Valuation
Committee
(VC).
The
Fund
may
utilize
independent
pricing
services,
quotations
from
securities
and
financial
instrument
dealers,
and
other
market
sources
to
determine
fair
value.
Equity
securities
listed
on
an
exchange
or
on
the
NASDAQ
National
Market
System
are
valued
at
the
last
quoted
sale
price
or
the
official
closing
price of
the
day,
respectively.
Foreign
equity
securities
are
valued
as
of
the
close
of
trading
on
the
foreign
stock
exchange
on
which
the
security
is
primarily
traded,
or
as
of
4
p.m.
Eastern
time.
The
value
is
then
converted
into
its
U.S.
dollar
equivalent
at
the
foreign
exchange
rate
in
effect
at
4
p.m.
Eastern
time
on
the
day
that
the
value
of
the
security
is
determined.
Over-the-counter
(OTC)
securities
are
valued
within
the
range
of
the
most
recent
quoted
bid
and
ask
prices.
Securities
that
trade
in
multiple
markets
or
on
multiple
exchanges
are
valued
according
to
the
broadest
and
most
representative
market.
Certain
equity
securities
are
valued
based
upon
fundamental
characteristics
or
relationships
to
similar
securities.
Debt
securities
generally
trade
in
the
OTC
market
rather
than
on
a
securities
exchange.
The
Fund's
pricing
services
use
multiple
valuation
techniques
to
determine
fair
value.
In
instances
where
sufficient
market
activity
exists,
the
pricing
services
may
utilize
a
market-based
approach
through
which
quotes
from
market
makers
are
used
to
determine
fair
value.
In
instances
where
sufficient
market
activity
may
not
exist
or
is
limited,
the
pricing
services
also
utilize
proprietary
valuation
models
which
may
consider
market
characteristics
such
as
benchmark
yield
curves,
credit
spreads,
estimated
default
rates,
anticipated
market
interest
rate
volatility,
coupon
rates,
anticipated
timing
of
principal
repayments,
underlying
collateral,
and
other
unique
security
features
in
order
to
estimate
the
relevant
cash
flows,
which
are
then
discounted
to
calculate
the
fair
value.
Investments
in open-end mutual
funds
are
valued
at
the
closing
NAV.
Investments
in
repurchase
agreements
are
valued
at
cost,
which
approximates
fair
value.
The
Fund
has
procedures
to
determine
the
fair
value
of
financial
instruments
for
which
market
prices
are
not
reliable
or
readily
available.
Under
these
procedures,
the Fund
primarily
employs
a
market-based
approach
which
may
use
related
or
comparable
assets
or
liabilities,
recent
transactions,
market
multiples,
and
other
relevant
information
for
the
investment
to
determine
the
fair
value
of
the
investment.
An
income-based
valuation
approach
may
also
be
used
in
which
the
anticipated
future
cash
flows
of
the
investment
are
discounted
to
calculate
fair
value.
Discounts
may
also
be
applied
due
to
the
nature
or
duration
of
any
restrictions
on
the
disposition
of
the
investments.
Due
to
the
inherent
uncertainty
of
valuations
of
such
investments,
the
fair
values
may
differ
significantly
from
the
values
that
would
have
been
used
had
an
active
market
existed.
Trading
in
securities
on
foreign
securities
stock
exchanges
and
OTC
markets
may
be
completed
before
4
p.m.
Eastern
time.
In
addition,
trading
in
certain
foreign
markets
may
not
take
place
on
every
Fund's
business
day.
Events
can
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
25
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
occur
between
the
time
at
which
trading
in
a
foreign
security
is
completed
and
4
p.m.
Eastern
time
that
might
call
into
question
the
reliability
of
the
value
of
a
portfolio
security
held
by
the
Fund.
As
a
result,
differences
may
arise
between
the
value
of
the
Fund's
portfolio
securities
as
determined
at
the
foreign
market
close
and
the
latest
indications
of
value
at
4
p.m.
Eastern
time.
In
order
to
minimize
the
potential
for
these
differences,
an
independent
pricing
service
may
be
used
to
adjust
the
value
of
the
Fund's
portfolio
securities
to
the
latest
indications
of
fair
value
at
4
p.m.
Eastern
time.
At
January
31,
2023,
certain
securities
may
have
been
fair
valued
using
these
procedures,
in
which
case
the
securities
were
categorized
as
Level
2
within
the
fair
value
hierarchy
(referred
to
as
“market
level
fair
value”).
See
the
Fair
Value
Measurements
note
for
more
information.
When
the
last
day
of
the
reporting
period
is
a
non-business
day,
certain
foreign
markets
may
be
open
on
those
days
that
the
Fund's
NAV
is
not
calculated,
which
could
result
in
differences
between
the
value
of
the
Fund's
portfolio
securities
on
the
last
business
day
and
the
last
calendar
day
of
the
reporting
period.
Any
security
valuation
changes
due
to
an
open
foreign
market
are
adjusted
and
reflected
by
the
Fund
for
financial
reporting
purposes.
b.
Foreign
Currency
Translation
Portfolio
securities
and
other
assets
and
liabilities
denominated
in
foreign
currencies
are
translated
into
U.S.
dollars
based
on
the
exchange
rate
of
such
currencies
against
U.S.
dollars
on
the
date
of
valuation.
The
Fund
may
enter
into
foreign
currency
exchange
contracts
to
facilitate
transactions
denominated
in
a
foreign
currency.
Purchases
and
sales
of
securities,
income
and
expense
items
denominated
in
foreign
currencies
are
translated
into
U.S.
dollars
at
the
exchange
rate
in
effect
on
the
transaction
date.
Portfolio
securities
and
assets
and
liabilities
denominated
in
foreign
currencies
contain
risks
that
those
currencies
will
decline
in
value
relative
to
the
U.S.
dollar.
Occasionally,
events
may
impact
the
availability
or
reliability
of
foreign
exchange
rates
used
to
convert
the
U.S.
dollar
equivalent
value.
If
such
an
event
occurs,
the
foreign
exchange
rate
will
be
valued
at
fair
value
using
procedures
established
and
approved
by
the
Board.
The
Fund
does
not
separately
report
the
effect
of
changes
in
foreign
exchange
rates
from
changes
in
market
prices
on
securities
held.
Such
changes
are
included
in
net
realized
and
unrealized
gain
or
loss
from
investments
in
the
Statement of
Operations.
Realized
foreign
exchange
gains
or
losses
arise
from
sales
of
foreign
currencies,
currency
gains
or
losses
realized
between
the
trade
and
settlement
dates
on
securities
transactions
and
the
difference
between
the
recorded
amounts
of
dividends,
interest,
and
foreign
withholding
taxes
and
the
U.S.
dollar
equivalent
of
the
amounts
actually
received
or
paid.
Net
unrealized
foreign
exchange
gains
and
losses
arise
from
changes
in
foreign
exchange
rates
on
foreign
denominated
assets
and
liabilities
other
than
investments
in
securities
held
at
the
end
of
the
reporting
period.
c.
Securities
Lending
The
Fund
participates
in
an
agency
based
securities
lending
program
to
earn
additional
income.
The
Fund
receives
collateral
in
the
form
of
cash
and/or
U.S.
Government
and
Agency
securities
against
the
loaned
securities
in
an
amount
equal
to
at
least
102%
of
the
fair
value
of
the
loaned
securities.
Collateral
is
maintained
over
the
life
of
the
loan
in
an
amount
not
less
than
100%
of
the
fair
value
of
loaned
securities,
as
determined
at
the
close
of
Fund
business
each
day;
any
additional
collateral
required
due
to
changes
in
security
values
is
delivered
to
the
Fund
on
the
next
business
day.
Any
cash
collateral
received
is
deposited
into
a
joint
cash
account
with
other
funds
and
is
used
to
invest
in
a
money
market
fund
managed
by
Franklin
Advisers,
Inc.,
an
affiliate
of
the Fund.
Additionally,
at
January
31,
2023,
the
Fund
held
$26,234
in
U.S.
Government
and
Agency
securities
as
collateral.
These
securities
are
held
as
collateral
in
segregated
accounts
with
the
Fund’s
custodian.
The
Fund
cannot
repledge
or
resell
these
securities
held
as
collateral.
As
such,
the
non-cash
collateral
is
excluded
from
the
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities.
The
Fund
may
receive
income
from
the
investment
of
cash
collateral,
in
addition
to
lending
fees
and
rebates
paid
by
the
borrower.
Income
from
securities
loaned,
net
of
fees
paid
to
the
securities
lending
agent
and/or
third-party
vendor,
is
reported
separately
in
the
Statement
of
Operations.
The
Fund
bears
the
market
risk
with
respect
to any
cash collateral
investment,
securities
loaned,
and
the
risk
that
the
agent
may
default
on
its
obligations
to
the
Fund.
If
the
borrower
defaults
on
its
obligation
to
return
the
securities
loaned,
the
1.
Organization
and
Significant
Accounting
Policies
(continued)
a.
Financial
Instrument
Valuation
(continued)
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
26
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
Fund
has
the
right
to
repurchase
the
securities
in
the
open
market
using
the
collateral
received.
The
securities
lending
agent
has
agreed
to
indemnify
the
Fund
in
the
event
of
default
by
a
third
party
borrower.
d.
Income
and
Deferred
Taxes
It
is the
Fund's
policy
to
qualify
as
a
regulated
investment
company
under
the
Internal
Revenue
Code. The
Fund
intends
to
distribute
to
shareholders
substantially
all
of
its
taxable
income
and
net
realized
gains
to
relieve
it
from
federal
income
and excise
taxes.
As
a
result,
no
provision
for
U.S.
federal
income
taxes
is
required.
The Fund
may
be
subject
to
foreign
taxation
related
to
income
received,
capital
gains
on
the
sale
of
securities
and
certain
foreign
currency
transactions
in
the
foreign
jurisdictions
in
which
it
invests.
Foreign
taxes,
if
any,
are
recorded
based
on
the
tax
regulations
and
rates
that
exist
in
the
foreign
markets
in
which
the
Fund
invests.
When
a
capital
gain
tax
is
determined
to
apply,
the
Fund
records
an
estimated
deferred
tax
liability
in
an
amount
that
would
be
payable
if
the
securities
were
disposed
of
on
the
valuation
date.
The
Fund
may
recognize
an
income
tax
liability
related
to
its
uncertain
tax
positions
under
U.S.
GAAP
when
the
uncertain
tax
position
has
a
less
than
50%
probability
that
it
will
be
sustained
upon
examination
by
the
tax
authorities
based
on
its
technical
merits.
As
of
January
31,
2023,
the
Fund
has
determined
that
no
tax
liability
is
required
in
its
financial
statements
related
to
uncertain
tax
positions
for
any
open
tax
years
(or
expected
to
be
taken
in
future
tax
years).
Open
tax
years
are
those
that
remain
subject
to
examination
and
are
based
on
the
statute
of
limitations
in
each
jurisdiction
in
which
the
Fund
invests.
e.
Security
Transactions,
Investment
Income,
Expenses
and
Distributions
Security
transactions
are
accounted
for
on
trade
date.
Realized
gains
and
losses
on
security
transactions
are
determined
on
a
specific
identification
basis.
Interest
income
and
estimated
expenses
are
accrued
daily.
Dividend
income
is
recorded
on
the
ex-dividend
date
except
for
certain
dividends
from
securities
where
the
dividend
rate
is
not
available.
In
such
cases,
the
dividend
is
recorded
as
soon
as
the
information
is
received
by
the
Fund.
Distributions
to
shareholders
are
recorded
on
the
ex-dividend
date.
Distributable
earnings
are
determined
according
to
income
tax
regulations
(tax
basis)
and
may
differ
from
earnings
recorded
in
accordance
with
U.S.
GAAP.
These
differences
may
be
permanent
or
temporary.
Permanent
differences
are
reclassified
among
capital
accounts
to
reflect
their
tax
character.
These
reclassifications
have
no
impact
on
net
assets
or
the
results
of
operations.
Temporary
differences
are
not
reclassified,
as
they
may
reverse
in
subsequent
periods.
Realized
and
unrealized
gains
and
losses
and
net
investment
income,
excluding
class
specific
expenses,
are
allocated
daily
to
each
class
of
shares
based
upon
the
relative
proportion
of
net
assets
of
each
class.
Differences
in
per
share
distributions
by
class
are
generally
due
to
differences
in
class
specific
expenses.
f.
Accounting
Estimates
The
preparation
of
financial
statements
in
accordance
with
U.S.
GAAP
requires
management
to
make
estimates
and
assumptions
that
affect
the
reported
amounts
of
assets
and
liabilities
at
the
date
of
the
financial
statements
and
the
amounts
of
income
and
expenses
during
the
reporting
period.
Actual
results
could
differ
from
those
estimates.
g.
Guarantees
and
Indemnifications
Under
the
Fund's
organizational
documents,
its
officers
and
trustees
are
indemnified
by
the
Fund
against
certain
liabilities
arising
out
of
the
performance
of
their
duties
to
the
Fund.
Additionally,
in
the
normal
course
of
business,
the
Fund
enters
into
contracts
with
service
providers
that
contain
general
indemnification
clauses.
The
Fund's
maximum
exposure
under
these
arrangements
is
unknown
as
this
would
involve
future
claims
that
may
be
made
against
the
Fund
that
have
not
yet
occurred.
Currently,
the
Fund
expects
the
risk
of
loss
to
be
remote.
1.
Organization
and
Significant
Accounting
Policies
(continued)
c.
Securities
Lending
(continued)
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
27
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
2.
Shares
of
Beneficial
Interest
At
January
31,
2023,
there
were
an
unlimited
number
of
shares
authorized
(without
par
value).
Transactions
in
the
Fund’s
shares
were
as
follows:
3.
Transactions
with
Affiliates
Franklin
Resources,
Inc.
is
the
holding
company
for
various
subsidiaries
that
together
are
referred
to
as
Franklin
Templeton.
Certain
officers
and
trustees
of
the
Fund
are
also
officers
and/or
directors
of
the
following
subsidiaries:
Six
Months
Ended
January
31,
2023
Year
Ended
July
31,
2022
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Class
A
Shares:
Shares
sold
a
...................................
4,873,463
$77,969,271
17,394,815
$384,022,653
Shares
issued
in
reinvestment
of
distributions
..........
—
—
3,065,533
63,947,021
Shares
redeemed
...............................
(5,728,379)
(92,462,755)
(18,480,802)
(412,720,013)
Net
increase
(decrease)
..........................
(854,916)
$(14,493,484)
1,979,546
$35,249,661
Class
C
Shares:
Shares
sold
...................................
283,284
$4,058,638
1,043,050
$20,570,770
Shares
issued
in
reinvestment
of
distributions
..........
—
—
401,227
7,434,732
Shares
redeemed
a
..............................
(660,679)
(9,248,957)
(1,720,032)
(33,403,377)
Net
increase
(decrease)
..........................
(377,395)
$(5,190,319)
(275,755)
$(5,397,875)
Class
R6
Shares:
Shares
sold
...................................
632,079
$11,048,221
1,456,609
$34,997,925
Shares
issued
in
reinvestment
of
distributions
..........
—
—
111,170
2,536,911
Shares
redeemed
...............................
(431,209)
(7,580,689)
(812,733)
(18,889,021)
Net
increase
(decrease)
..........................
200,870
$3,467,532
755,046
$18,645,815
Advisor
Class
Shares:
Shares
sold
...................................
3,376,020
$58,121,628
5,907,074
$139,056,195
Shares
issued
in
reinvestment
of
distributions
..........
—
—
999,907
22,527,905
Shares
redeemed
...............................
(3,433,523)
(58,289,501)
(5,238,312)
(120,117,024)
Net
increase
(decrease)
..........................
(57,503)
$(167,873)
1,668,669
$41,467,076
a
May
include
a
portion
of
Class
C
shares
that
were
automatically
converted
to
Class
A.
Subsidiary
Affiliation
Franklin
Advisers,
Inc.
(Advisers)
Investment
manager
Franklin
Templeton
Services,
LLC
(FT
Services)
Administrative
manager
Franklin
Distributors,
LLC
(Distributors)
Principal
underwriter
Franklin
Templeton
Investor
Services,
LLC
(Investor
Services)
Transfer
agent
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
28
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
a.
Management
Fees
The
Fund
pays
an
investment
management
fee,
calculated
daily
and
paid
monthly,
to
Advisers
based
on
the
month-end
net
assets
of
the
Fund
as
follows:
For
the
period
ended
January
31,
2023,
the
annualized
gross
effective
investment
management
fee
rate
was 0.472%
of
the
Fund’s
average daily
net
assets.
b.
Administrative
Fees
Under
an
agreement
with
Advisers,
FT
Services
provides
administrative
services
to
the
Fund.
The
fee
is
paid
by
Advisers
based
on
the
Fund's
average
daily
net
assets,
and
is
not
an
additional
expense
of
the
Fund.
c.
Distribution
Fees
The
Board
has
adopted
distribution
plans
for
Class
A
and
Class
C
shares,
pursuant
to
Rule
12b-1
under
the
1940
Act.
Under
the
Fund’s
Class
A
reimbursement
distribution
plan,
the
Fund
reimburses
Distributors
for
costs
incurred
in
connection
with
the
servicing,
sale
and
distribution
of the
Fund's
shares
up
to
the
maximum
annual
plan
rate.
Under
the
Class
A
reimbursement
distribution
plan,
costs
exceeding
the
maximum
for
the
current
plan
year
cannot
be
reimbursed
in
subsequent
periods.
In
addition,
under
the
Fund’s
Class
C
compensation
distribution
plan,
the
Fund
pays
Distributors
for
costs
incurred
in
connection
with
the
servicing,
sale
and
distribution
of
the
Fund's
shares
up
to
the
maximum
annual
plan
rate.
The
plan
year,
for
purposes
of
monitoring
compliance
with
the
maximum
annual
plan
rates,
is
February
1
through
January
31.
The
maximum
annual
plan
rates,
based
on
the
average
daily
net
assets,
for
each
class,
are
as
follows:
d.
Sales
Charges/Underwriting
Agreements
Front-end
sales
charges
and
contingent
deferred
sales
charges
(CDSC)
do
not
represent
expenses
of
the
Fund.
These
charges
are
deducted
from
the
proceeds
of
sales
of
fund
shares
prior
to
investment
or
from
redemption
proceeds
prior
to
remittance,
as
applicable.
Distributors
has
advised
the
Fund
of
the
following
commission
transactions
related
to
the
sales
and
redemptions
of
the
Fund's
shares
for
the
period:
Annualized
Fee
Rate
Net
Assets
0.625%
Up
to
and
including
$100
million
0.500%
Over
$100
million,
up
to
and
including
$250
million
0.450%
Over
$250
million,
up
to
and
including
$7.5
billion
0.440%
Over
$7.5
billion,
up
to
and
including
$10
billion
0.430%
Over
$10
billion,
up
to
and
including
$12.5
billion
0.420%
Over
$12.5
billion,
up
to
and
including
$15
billion
0.400%
In
excess
of
$15
billion
Class
A
....................................................................................
0.25%
Class
C
....................................................................................
1.00%
Sales
charges
retained
net
of
commissions
paid
to
unaffiliated
brokers/dealers
..............................
$23,824
CDSC
retained
..............................................................................
$7,382
3.
Transactions
with
Affiliates
(continued)
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
29
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
e.
Transfer
Agent
Fees
Each
class
of
shares pays
transfer
agent
fees
to
Investor
Services
for
its
performance
of
shareholder
servicing
obligations.
Effective
October
1,
2022,
the
fees
are
based
on
an
annualized
asset
based
fee
of
0.016%
plus
a
reduced
transaction
based
fee.
Prior
to
October
1,
2022,
the
fees
were
based
on
an
annualized
asset
based
fee
of
0.02%
plus
a
transaction
based
fee.
In
addition,
each
class reimburses
Investor
Services
for
out
of
pocket
expenses
incurred
and,
except
for
Class
R6, reimburses
shareholder
servicing
fees
paid
to
third
parties.
These
fees
are
allocated
daily
based
upon
their
relative
proportion
of
such
classes'
aggregate
net
assets.
Class
R6
pays
Investor
Services
transfer
agent
fees
specific
to
that
class.
For
the
period
ended
January
31,
2023,
the
Fund
paid
transfer
agent
fees
of
$917,420,
of
which
$278,548
was
retained
by
Investor
Services.
f.
Investments
in
Affiliated
Management
Investment
Companies
The
Fund
invests
in
one
or
more
affiliated
management
investment
companies.
As
defined
in
the
1940
Act,
an
investment
is
deemed
to
be
a
“Controlled
Affiliate”
of
a
fund
when
a
fund
owns,
either
directly
or
indirectly,
25%
or
more
of
the
affiliated
fund’s
outstanding
shares
or
has
the
power
to
exercise
control
over
management
or
policies
of
such
fund.
The
Fund
does
not
invest
for
purposes
of
exercising
a
controlling
influence
over
the
management
or
policies.
Management
fees
paid
by
the
Fund
are
waived
on
assets
invested
in
the
affiliated
management
investment
companies,
as
noted
in
the
Statement
of
Operations,
in
an
amount
not
to
exceed
the
management
and
administrative
fees
paid
directly
or
indirectly
by
each
affiliate.
During
the
period
ended
January
31,
2023,
the
Fund
held
investments
in
affiliated
management
investment
companies
as
follows:
g.
Waiver
and
Expense
Reimbursements
Investor
Services
has
contractually
agreed
in
advance
to
waive
or
limit
its
fees
so
that
the
Class
R6
transfer
agent
fees
do
not
exceed
0
.
03
%
based
on
the
average
net
assets
of
the
class
until
November
30,
202
3
.
4.
Expense
Offset
Arrangement
The Fund has
entered
into
an
arrangement
with
its
custodian
whereby
credits
realized
as
a
result
of
uninvested
cash
balances
are
used
to
reduce
a
portion
of
the
Fund's
custodian
expenses.
During
the
period
ended
January
31,
2023,
the
custodian
fees
were
reduced
as
noted
in
the
Statement
of
Operations.
aa
Value
at
Beginning
of
Period
Purchases
Sales
Realized
Gain
(Loss)
Net
Change
in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
Value
at
End
of
Period
Number
of
Shares
Held
at
End
of
Period
Investment
Income
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Non-Controlled
Affiliates
Dividends
Institutional
Fiduciary
Trust
-
Money
Market
Portfolio,
3.969%
$
4,427,844
$
67,837,567
$
(64,752,397)
$
—
$
—
$
7,513,014
7,513,014
$
69,258
Non-Controlled
Affiliates
Income
from
securities
loaned
Institutional
Fiduciary
Trust
-
Money
Market
Portfolio,
3.969%
$3,062,000
$15,705,000
$(16,915,000)
$—
$—
$1,852,000
1,852,000
$41,756
Total
Affiliated
Securities
...
$7,489,844
$83,542,567
$(81,667,397)
$—
$—
$9,365,014
$111,014
3.
Transactions
with
Affiliates
(continued)
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
30
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
5.
Income
Taxes
For
tax
purposes,
capital
losses
may
be
carried
over
to
offset
future
capital
gains.
At
July
31,
2022,
the
capital
loss
carryforwards
were
as
follows:
For
tax
purposes,
the
Fund
may
elect
to
defer
any
portion
of
a
post-October
capital
loss
or
late-year
ordinary
loss
to
the
first
day
of
the
following
fiscal
year.
At
July
31,
2022,
the
Fund
deferred
late-year
ordinary
losses
of
$26,583,136.
At
J
anuary
31,
202
3
,
the
cost
of
investments
and
net
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
for
income
tax
purposes
were
as
follows:
Differences
between
income
and/or
capital
gains
as
determined
on
a
book
basis
and
a
tax
basis
are
primarily
due
to
differing
treatments
of
wash
sales,
passive
foreign
investment
company
shares
and
corporate
actions.
6.
Investment
Transactions
Purchases
and
sales
of
investments
(excluding
short
term
securities) for
the
period
ended
January
31,
2023,
aggregated
$46,161,235
and
$55,428,649,
respectively.
At
January
31,
2023,
in
connection
with
securities
lending
transactions,
the
Fund
loaned
equity
investments
and
received
$1,852,000
of
cash
collateral.
The
gross
amount
of
recognized
liability
for
such
transactions
is
included
in
payable
upon
return
of
securities
loaned
in
the
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities.
The
agreements
can
be
terminated
at
any
time.
7.
Concentration
of
Risk
Investing
in
foreign
securities
may
include
certain
risks
and
considerations
not
typically
associated
with
investing
in
U.S.
securities,
such
as
fluctuating
currency
values
and
changing
local,
regional
and
global
economic,
political
and
social
conditions,
which
may
result
in
greater
market
volatility.
Political
and
financial
uncertainty
in
many
foreign
regions
may
increase
market
volatility
and
the
economic
risk
of
investing
in
foreign
securities.
In
addition,
certain
foreign
securities
may
not
be
as
liquid
as
U.S.
securities.
8.
Geopolitical
Risk
On
February
24,
2022,
Russia
engaged
in
military
actions
in
the
sovereign
territory
of
Ukraine.
The
current
political
and
financial
uncertainty
surrounding
Russia
and
Ukraine
may
increase
market
volatility
and
the
economic
risk
of
investing
in
securities
in
these
countries
and
may
also
cause
uncertainty
for
the
global
economy
and
broader
financial
markets.
The
ultimate
fallout
and
long-term
impact
from
these
events
are
not
known.
The
Fund
will
continue
to
assess
the
impact
on
valuations
and
liquidity
and
will
take
any
potential
actions
needed
in
accordance
with
procedures
approved
by
the
Board.
Capital
loss
carryforwards
not
subject
to
expiration:
Short
term
................................................................................
$8,067,044
Long
term
................................................................................
668,367,820
Total
capital
loss
carryforwards
...............................................................
$676,434,864
Cost
of
investments
..........................................................................
$1,112,517,130
Unrealized
appreciation
........................................................................
$412,728,556
Unrealized
depreciation
........................................................................
(425,210,043)
Net
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
..........................................................
$(12,481,487)
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
31
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
9.
Novel
Coronavirus
Pandemic
The
global
outbreak
of
the
novel
coronavirus
disease,
known
as
COVID-19, has
caused
adverse
effects
on
many
companies,
sectors,
nations,
regions
and
the
markets
in
general, and
may
continue for
an unpredictable duration.
The
effects
of
this
pandemic
may
materially
impact
the
value
and
performance
of
the Fund, its ability
to
buy
and
sell
fund
investments
at
appropriate
valuations
and its ability
to
achieve its investment
objectives.
10.
Restricted
Securities
The
Fund
invests
in
securities
that
are
restricted
under
the
Securities
Act
of
1933
(1933
Act).
Restricted
securities
are
often
purchased
in
private
placement
transactions,
and
cannot
be
sold
without
prior
registration
unless
the
sale
is
pursuant
to
an
exemption
under
the
1933
Act.
Disposal
of
these
securities
may
require
greater
effort
and
expense,
and
prompt
sale
at
an
acceptable
price
may
be
difficult.
The Fund
may
have
registration
rights
for
restricted
securities.
The
issuer
generally
incurs
all
registration
costs.
At
January
31,
2023,
investments
in
restricted
securities,
excluding
securities
exempt
from
registration
under
the
1933
Act,
were
as
follows:
Shares
/
Warrants
Issuer
Acquisition
Date
Cost
Value
Franklin
Gold
a
nd
Precious
Metals
Fund
1,000,000
a
Adventus
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
7/26/23
............
1/27/22
$
—
$
5,218
1,650,000
b
Ascot
Resources
Ltd.,
144A,
3/08/24
.............
3/09/22
—
122,269
1,750,000
c
Banyan
Gold
Corp.,
144A
......................
12/19/22
512,595
580,992
750,000
d
Benchmark
Metals,
Inc.,
144A,
12/09/23
...........
12/10/21
—
5,284
1,000,000
d
Benchmark
Metals,
Inc.,
9/29/24
................
9/30/22
—
72,190
1,379,500
e
Clean
Air
Metals,
Inc.,
144A,
2/23/23
.............
2/24/21
—
—
3,600,000
e
Clean
Air
Metals,
Inc.,
144A,
2/23/24
.............
2/24/22
—
10,139
5,000,000
f
Euro
Sun
Mining,
Inc.,
144A,
6/05/23
.............
6/09/20
—
537
3,750,000
g
G
Mining
Ventures
Corp.,
144A,
8/20/24
...........
9/16/21
—
210,541
1,025,000
h
Gold
Mountain
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
4/21/24
........
4/22/22
—
26
6,375,000
Lydian
International
Ltd.
.......................
11/24/17
2,098,016
—
25,250,000
Lydian
International
Ltd.,
144A
..................
3/06/12
–
3/10/16
14,750,154
—
2,210,000
Magna
Mining,
Inc.
...........................
1/23/23
1,817,706
1,478,969
6,000,000
i
Max
Resource
Corp.,
144A,
10/05/23
.............
5/20/22
—
36
2,650,000
j
Millennial
Precious
Metals
Corp.,
5/18/24
..........
6/17/22
—
38,807
9,500,000
k
Monarch
Mining
Corp.,
144A
...................
1/18/23
457,407
507,224
6,000,000
k
Monarch
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
4/06/27
.............
4/07/22
—
52,356
608,333
l
Osisko
Development
Corp.,
144A,
3/27/27
.........
3/03/22
—
370,264
545,000
m
Prime
Mining
Corp.
..........................
12/15/22
598,551
802,351
545,000
m
Prime
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
12/22/25
..............
12/23/22
—
292,868
650,000
m
Prime
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
4/27/24
...............
4/28/21
—
48,818
900,000
n
Probe
Gold,
Inc.,
144A,
3/08/24
.................
3/09/22
—
85,388
6,500,000
o
Reunion
Gold
Corp.,
144A,
7/08/24
..............
7/11/22
—
421,125
4,500,000
p
Talisker
Resources
Ltd.,
144A,
1/11/25
............
8/12/22
—
91,691
1,500,000
q
Vizsla
Silver
Corp.,
144A,
11/15/24
...............
11/16/22
—
365,401
Total
Restricted
Securities
(Value
is
0.5%
of
Net
Assets)
..............
$20,234,429
$5,562,494
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
32
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
11.
Holdings
of
5%
Voting
Securities
of
Portfolio
Companies
The
1940
Act
defines
"affiliated
companies"
to
include
investments
in
portfolio
companies
in
which
a
fund
owns
5%
or
more
of
the
outstanding
voting
securities.
Additionally,
as
defined
in
the
1940
Act,
an
investment
is
deemed
to
be
a
“Controlled
Affiliate”
of
a
fund
when
a
fund
owns,
either
directly
or
indirectly,
25%
or
more
of
the
affiliated
companies’
outstanding
shares
or
has
the
power
to
exercise
control
over
management
or
policies
of
such
company.
During
the
period
ended
January
31,
2023,
investments
in
“affiliated
companies”
were
as
follows:
a
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$3,263,435
as
of
January
31,
2023.
b
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$15,541,827
as
of
January
31,
2023.
c
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$6,506,039
as
of
January
31,
2023.
d
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$4,195,360
as
of
January
31,
2023.
e
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$891,615
as
of
January
31,
2023.
f
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$563,698
as
of
January
31,
2023.
g
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$11,978,580
as
of
January
31,
2023.
h
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$559,000
as
of
January
31,
2023.
i
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$1,059,752
as
of
January
31,
2023.
j
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$1,528,553
as
of
January
31,
2023.
k
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$360,767
as
of
January
31,
2023.
l
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$5,836,508
as
of
January
31,
2023.
m
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$5,524,239
as
of
January
31,
2023.
n
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$7,189,853
as
of
January
31,
2023.
o
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$3,761,744
as
of
January
31,
2023.
p
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$2,281,849
as
of
January
31,
2023.
q
The
Fund
also
invests
in
unrestricted
securities
of
the
issuer,
valued
at
$10,346,111
as
of
January
31,
2023.
Value
at
Beginning
of
Period
Purchases
Sales
Realized
Gain
(Loss)
Net
Change
in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
Value
at
End
of
Period
Number
of
Shares/Warrants
at
End
of
Period
Investment
Income
Franklin
Gold
a
nd
Precious
Metals
Fund
Non-Controlled
Affiliates
Dividends
Ascot
Resources
Ltd.,
144A
...........
$
6,593,987
$
—
$
—
$
—
$
5,430,365
$
12,024,352
22,220,000
$
—
Ascot
Resources
Ltd.,
144A,
3/08/24
.....
90,648
—
—
—
31,621
122,269
1,650,000
—
Ascot
Resources
Ltd.,
144A.
...........
1,928,934
—
—
—
1,588,541
3,517,475
6,500,000
—
Auteco
Minerals
Ltd
...
3,204,442
633,829
—
—
845,719
4,683,990
116,057,775
—
Banyan
Gold
Corp.
...
6,878,581
—
—
—
(372,542)
6,506,039
18,417,629
—
Banyan
Gold
Corp.,
144A
—
512,595
—
—
68,397
580,992
1,750,000
—
Benchmark
Metals,
Inc.
..
702,851
611,621
a
—
—
(209,624)
1,104,848
3,500,000
—
Benchmark
Metals,
Inc.
...
4,587,411
—
—
—
(1,496,899)
3,090,512
9,790,300
—
Benchmark
Metals,
Inc.,
144A,
12/09/23
....
30,232
—
—
—
(24,948)
5,284
750,000
—
Benchmark
Metals,
Inc.,
9/29/24
..........
—
—
a
—
—
72,190
72,190
1,000,000
—
Black
Cat
Syndicate
Ltd.
3,048,844
—
—
—
—
b
—
b
—
b
—
Clean
Air
Metals,
Inc.
..
1,450,065
—
—
—
(558,450)
891,615
10,315,600
—
10.
Restricted
Securities
(continued)
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
33
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
Value
at
Beginning
of
Period
Purchases
Sales
Realized
Gain
(Loss)
Net
Change
in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
Value
at
End
of
Period
Number
of
Shares/Warrants
at
End
of
Period
Investment
Income
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
(continued)
Non-Controlled
Affiliates
Clean
Air
Metals,
Inc.,
144A,
2/23/23
.....
$
878
$
—
$
—
$
—
$
(878)
$
—
1,379,500
$
—
Clean
Air
Metals,
Inc.,
144A,
2/23/24
.....
87,884
—
—
—
(77,745)
10,139
3,600,000
—
Euro
Sun
Mining,
Inc.,
144A
...........
859,039
—
—
—
(295,341)
563,698
10,000,000
—
Euro
Sun
Mining,
Inc.,
144A,
6/05/23
.....
11,761
—
—
—
(11,224)
537
5,000,000
—
Falcon
Metals
Ltd.
....
1,460,861
—
—
—
239,324
1,700,185
9,225,414
—
G
Mining
Ventures
Corp.,
144A
...........
—
10,711,519
a
—
—
—
b
—
b
—
b
—
G
Mining
Ventures
Corp.,
144A,
8/20/24
.....
526,066
—
—
—
—
b
—
b
—
b
—
Geopacific
Resources
Ltd.
1,902,429
—
—
—
(1,142,060)
760,369
38,375,694
—
Gold
Mountain
Mining
Corp
.
...........
1,172,589
—
—
—
(806,186)
366,403
3,900,000
—
Gold
Mountain
Mining
Corp.
...........
616,361
—
—
—
(423,764)
192,597
2,050,000
—
Gold
Mountain
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
4/21/24
.
41,792
—
—
—
(41,766)
26
1,025,000
—
HighGold
Mining,
Inc.
..
3,338,282
—
—
—
(775,238)
2,563,044
4,803,000
—
Integra
Resources
Corp.,
(CAD
Traded)
.....
1,535,494
—
—
—
(6,745)
1,528,749
2,260,000
—
Integra
Resources
Corp.,
(USD
Traded)
.....
1,258,185
—
—
—
2
1,258,187
1,850,000
—
Liberty
Gold
Corp
....
6,185,047
—
—
—
1,669,949
7,854,996
16,329,800
—
Liberty
Gold
Corp.,
144A
984,772
—
—
—
265,886
1,250,658
2,600,000
—
Lion
One
Metals
Ltd.
..
4,647,491
—
—
—
—
b
—
b
—
b
—
Lion
One
Metals
Ltd.,
144A
...........
4,336,680
—
—
—
—
b
—
b
—
b
—
Magna
Mining,
Inc.
....
—
1,817,706
—
—
(338,737)
1,478,969
2,210,000
—
Mawson
Gold
Ltd
.....
1,554,861
—
a
—
—
1,914,136
3,468,997
18,100,000
—
Max
Resource
Corp
...
—
2,785,838
a
—
—
(1,726,086)
1,059,752
6,000,000
—
Max
Resource
Corp.,
144A,
10/05/23
....
403,169
—
—
—
(403,133)
36
6,000,000
—
Millennial
Precious
Metals
Corp
............
2,223,535
—
—
—
(694,982)
1,528,553
10,168,700
—
Millennial
Precious
Metals
Corp.,
5/18/24
.....
162,133
—
—
—
(123,326)
38,807
2,650,000
—
Monarch
Mining
Corp
..
2,188,325
—
a
—
—
(1,827,558)
360,767
6,000,000
—
Monarch
Mining
Corp.,
144A
...........
—
457,407
a
—
—
49,817
507,224
9,500,000
—
11.
Holdings
of
5%
Voting
Securities
of
Portfolio
Companies
(continued)
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
34
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
Value
at
Beginning
of
Period
Purchases
Sales
Realized
Gain
(Loss)
Net
Change
in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
Value
at
End
of
Period
Number
of
Shares/Warrants
at
End
of
Period
Investment
Income
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
(continued)
Non-Controlled
Affiliates
Monarch
Mining
Corp.,
144A,
4/06/27
.....
$
697,256
$
—
$
—
$
—
$
(644,900)
$
52,356
6,000,000
$
—
Newcore
Gold
Ltd.
....
2,155,408
—
—
—
(288,441)
1,866,967
9,200,000
—
Nighthawk
Gold
Corp
..
1,889,590
—
—
—
15,588
1,905,178
5,761,000
—
Nighthawk
Gold
Corp.,
144A,
6/08/23
.....
3,299
—
—
—
(3,169)
130
1,630,500
—
Nighthawk
Gold
Corp.,
5/03/24
..........
63,452
—
—
—
2,313
65,765
1,250,000
—
O3
Mining,
Inc.
......
5,801,250
1,177,037
a
—
—
(960,249)
6,018,038
5,100,000
—
Pantoro
Ltd
.........
9,269,140
3,997,917
a
—
—
(5,681,915)
7,585,142
112,613,794
—
Platinum
Group
Metals
Ltd.,
(CAD
Traded)
..
.
3,270,374
—
—
—
61,342
3,331,716
2,042,787
—
Platinum
Group
Metals
Ltd.,
(CAD
Traded)
...
2,849,525
—
—
—
53,449
2,902,974
1,779,911
—
Platinum
Group
Metals
Ltd.,
(CAD
Traded),
144A
...........
156,508
—
—
—
2,935
159,443
97,760
—
Platinum
Group
Metals
Ltd.,
(USD
Traded)
..
6,507,388
—
(1,007,322)
(8,313,788)
8,423,947
5,610,225
3,441,856
—
Platinum
Group
Metals
Ltd.,
(USD
Traded),
144A
...........
58,639
—
—
—
1,100
59,739
36,628
—
Red
5
Ltd.
.........
32,018,514
1,560,720
a
—
—
(5,572,874)
28,006,360
187,628,277
—
RTG
Mining,
Inc.
.....
89,844
—
—
—
(16,679)
73,165
1,769,918
—
RTG
Mining,
Inc.,
144A
.
121,715
—
—
—
(22,596)
99,119
2,397,790
—
RTG
Mining,
Inc.,
CDI
..
3,063,908
—
—
—
(251,903)
2,812,005
64,487,582
—
Sable
Resources
Ltd.
..
2,202,265
—
—
—
—
b
—
b
—
b
—
Saturn
Metals
Ltd.
....
1,658,655
311,050
—
—
(720,918)
1,248,787
10,339,999
—
Silver
Mountain
Resources,
Inc.
....
1,282,702
—
—
—
610,195
1,892,897
7,300,000
—
Silver
Mountain
Resources,
Inc.,
144A,
1/31/24
..........
178,153
—
—
—
(82,136)
96,017
3,650,000
—
Silver
Tiger
Metals,
Inc.,
144A
...........
4,099,961
—
—
—
1,687,337
5,787,298
17,500,000
—
Talisker
Resources
Ltd.
.
2,479,891
563,513
—
—
(761,555)
2,281,849
26,400,000
—
Talisker
Resources
Ltd.,
144A,
1/11/25
.....
—
—
a
—
—
91,691
91,691
4,500,000
—
TDG
Gold
Corp.
.....
259,898
—
—
—
279,448
539,346
2,080,000
—
TDG
Gold
Corp.,
144A
.
585,027
—
—
—
646,653
1,231,680
4,750,000
—
Thesis
Gold,
Inc.
.....
3,229,403
—
—
—
—
b
—
b
—
b
—
Troilus
Gold
Corp.
....
3,405,701
—
—
—
—
b
—
b
—
b
—
Troilus
Gold
Corp.,
6/30/23
29,285
—
—
—
—
b
—
b
—
b
—
11.
Holdings
of
5%
Voting
Securities
of
Portfolio
Companies
(continued)
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
35
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
12.
Credit
Facility
The
Fund,
together
with
other
U.S.
registered
and
foreign
investment
funds
(collectively,
Borrowers),
managed
by
Franklin
Templeton,
are
borrowers
in
a
joint
syndicated
senior
unsecured
credit
facility
totaling
$2.675
billion
(Global
Credit
Facility)
which
matured
on
February
3,
2023.
This
Global
Credit
Facility
provides
a
source
of
funds
to
the
Borrowers
for
temporary
and
emergency
purposes,
including
the
ability
to
meet
future
unanticipated
or
unusually
large
redemption
requests.
Effective
February
3,
2023,
the
Borrowers
renewed
the
Global
Credit
Facility
for
a
one-year
term,
maturing
February
2,
2024,
for
a
total
of
$2.675
billion.
Under
the
terms
of
the
Global
Credit
Facility,
the
Fund
shall,
in
addition
to
interest
charged
on
any
borrowings
made
by
the
Fund
and
other
costs
incurred
by
the
Fund,
pay
its
share
of
fees
and
expenses
incurred
in
connection
with
the
implementation
and
maintenance
of
the
Global
Credit
Facility,
based
upon
its
relative
share
of
the
aggregate
net
assets
of
all
of
the
Borrowers,
including
an
annual
commitment
fee
of
0.15%
based
upon
the
unused
portion
of
the
Global
Credit
Facility.
These
fees
are
reflected
in
other
expenses
in
the Statement
of
Operations.
During
the
period
ended
January
31,
2023,
the Fund
did
not
use
the
Global
Credit
Facility.
13.
Fair
Value
Measurements
The
Fund
follows
a
fair
value
hierarchy
that
distinguishes
between
market
data
obtained
from
independent
sources
(observable
inputs)
and
the Fund's
own
market
assumptions
(unobservable
inputs).
These
inputs
are
used
in
determining
the
value
of
the
Fund’s
financial
instruments
and
are
summarized
in
the
following
fair
value
hierarchy:
Level
1
–
quoted
prices
in
active
markets
for
identical
financial
instruments
Level
2
–
other
significant
observable
inputs
(including
quoted
prices
for
similar
financial
instruments,
interest
rates,
prepayment
speed,
credit
risk,
etc.)
Level
3
–
significant
unobservable
inputs
(including
the
Fund’s
own
assumptions
in
determining
the
fair
value
of
financial
instruments)
Value
at
Beginning
of
Period
Purchases
Sales
Realized
Gain
(Loss)
Net
Change
in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
Value
at
End
of
Period
Number
of
Shares/Warrants
at
End
of
Period
Investment
Income
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
(continued)
Non-Controlled
Affiliates
Wiluna
Mining
Corp.
Ltd.
$
2,898,345
$
—
$
—
$
—
$
(2,616,017)
$
282,328
19,510,000
$
—
Wiluna
Mining
Corp.
Ltd.,
12/31/24
.........
272,633
—
—
—
(272,633)
—
9,755,000
—
Total
Affiliated
Securities
(Value
is
12.1%
of
Net
Assets)
..........
$154,611,358
$25,140,752
$(1,007,322)
$
(8,313,788)
$
(5,201,272)
$133,092,474
$—
a
May
include
accretion,
amortization,
partnership
adjustments,
and/or
corporate
actions.
b
As
of
January
31,
2023,
no
longer
an
affiliate.
11.
Holdings
of
5%
Voting
Securities
of
Portfolio
Companies
(continued)
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
36
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
The
input
levels
are
not
necessarily
an
indication
of
the
risk
or
liquidity
associated
with
financial
instruments
at
that
level.
A
summary
of
inputs
used
as
of
January
31,
2023,
in
valuing
the
Fund’s
assets
carried
at
fair
value,
is
as
follows:
A
reconciliation
in
which
Level
3
inputs
are
used
in
determining
fair
value
is
presented
when
there
are
significant
Level
3
assets
and/or
liabilities
at
the
beginning
and/or
end
of
the
period
.
At
J
anuary
31,
202
3
,
the
reconciliation
is
as
follows:
Level
1
Level
2
Level
3
Total
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Assets:
Investments
in
Securities:
Common
Stocks
:
Copper
..............................
$
5,791,019
$
2,127,362
$
—
$
7,918,381
Diversified
Metals
&
Mining
...............
69,845,863
34,518,275
2,281,320
106,645,458
Environmental
&
Facilities
Services
.........
204,005
—
—
204,005
Gold
................................
617,580,463
249,390,698
2,489,751
a
869,460,912
Precious
Metals
&
Minerals
...............
44,248,925
25,976,567
—
70,225,492
Silver
...............................
30,057,449
1,892,897
—
31,950,346
Rights
:
Gold
................................
—
—
49,605
49,605
Silver
...............................
1,165,878
—
—
1,165,878
Warrants
:
Diversified
Metals
&
Mining
...............
—
—
1,025,249
a
1,025,249
Gold
................................
269,354
—
1,543,651
a
1,813,005
Precious
Metals
&
Minerals
...............
—
—
116,281
116,281
Silver
...............................
96,017
—
—
96,017
Short
Term
Investments
...................
9,365,014
—
—
9,365,014
Total
Investments
in
Securities
...........
$778,623,987
$313,905,799
b
$7,505,857
$1,100,035,643
a
Includes
financial
instruments
determined
to
have
no
value
at
January
31,
2023.
b
Includes
foreign
securities
valued
at
$292,972,084,
which
were
categorized
as
Level
2
as
a
result
of
the
application
of
market
level
fair
value
procedures.
See
the
Financial
Instrument
Valuation
note
for
more
information.
Balance
at
Beginning
of
Period
Purchases
a
Sales
b
Transfer
Into
Level
3
c
Transfer
Out
of
Level
3
d
Net
Accretion
(Amortiza-
tion)
Net
Realized
Gain
(Loss)
Net
Unr
ealized
Appreciatio
n
(
Depreciation
)
Balance
at
End
of
Period
Net
Change
in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
on
Assets
Held
at
Period
End
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Assets:
Investments
in
Securities:
Common
Stocks
Diversified
Metals
&
Mining
.........
$
1,567,117
$
2,416,257
$
(2,785,839)
$
—
$
—
$
—
$
—
$
1,083,785
$
2,281,320
$
(134,936)
Gold
............
10,603,419
e
970,003
(10,475,472)
3,983,506
—
—
(305,471)
(2,286,234)
2,489,751
e
(4,032,040)
Precious
Metals
&
Minerals
........
585,027
—
—
—
(585,027)
—
—
—
—
—
Rights
Gold
............
51,542
—
—
—
—
—
—
(1,937)
49,605
(1,937)
Warrants
Diversified
Metals
&
Mining
.........
1,277,893
—
e
—
—
—
—
—
(252,644)
1,025,249
e
(252,644)
Gold
............
1,887,657
e
—
e
—
e
314,425
—
—
—
(658,431)
1,543,651
e
(581,390)
13.
Fair
Value
Measurements
(continued)
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
37
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
14.
New
Accounting
Pronouncements
In June
2022,
the
FASB
issued
Accounting
Standards
Update
(ASU)
No.
2022-03,
Fair
Value
Measurement
(Topic
820)
–
Fair
Value
Measurement
of
Equity
Securities
Subject
to
Contractual
Sale
Restrictions.
The
amendments
in
the
ASU
clarify
that
a
contractual
restriction
on
the
sale
of
an
equity
security
is
not
considered
part
of
the
unit
of
account
of
the
equity
security
and,
therefore,
should
not
be
considered
in
measuring
fair
value.
The
ASU
is
effective
for
interim
and
annual
reporting
periods
beginning
after
December
15,
2023,
with
the
option
of
early
adoption.
Management
has
reviewed
the
requirements
and
believes
that
the
adoption
of
the
ASU
will
not
have
a
material
impact
on
the
financial
statements.
15.
Subsequent
Events
The
Fund
has
evaluated
subsequent
events
through
the
issuance
of
the financial
statements
and
determined
that
no
events
have
occurred
that
require
disclosure
other
than
those
already
disclosed
in
the
financial
statements.
Abbreviations
Balance
at
Beginning
of
Period
Purchases
a
Sales
b
Transfer
Into
Level
3
c
Transfer
Out
of
Level
3
Net
Accretion
(Amortiza-
tion)
Net
Realized
Gain
(Loss)
Net
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
Balance
at
End
of
Period
Net
Change
in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
on
Assets
Held
at
Period
End
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
(continued)
Assets:
Investments
in
Securities:
Warrants
Precious
Metals
&
Minerals
........
$
192,365
$
—
e
$
—
$
—
$
—
$
—
$
—
$
(76,084)
$
116,281
$
(76,084)
Total
Investments
in
Securities
.
$16,165,020
$3,386,260
$(13,261,311)
$4,297,931
$(585,027)
$
—
$
(305,471)
$
(2,191,545)
$7,505,857
$
(5,079,031)
a
Purchases
include
all
purchases
of
securities
and
securities
received
in
corporate
actions.
b
Sales
include
all
sales
of
securities,
maturities,
paydowns
and
securities
tendered
in
corporate
actions.
c
Transferred
into
Level
3
as
a
result
of
the
unavailability
of
a
quoted
market
price
in
an
active
market
for
identical
securities
or
as
a
result
of
the
unreliability
of
the
foreign
exchange
rate
and
other
significant
observable
valuation
inputs.
May
include
amounts
related
to
a
corporate
action.
d
Transferred
out
of
Level
3
as
a
result
of
the
availability
of
a
quoted
price
in
an
active
market
for
identical
securities
and
other
significant
observable
valuation
inputs.
May
include
amounts
related
to
a
corporate
action.
e
Includes
financial
instruments
determined
to
have
no
value.
Currency
AUD
Australian
Dollar
CAD
Canadian
Dollar
GBP
British
Pound
USD
United
States
Dollar
Selected
Portfolio
ADR
American
Depositary
Receipt
CDI
CREST
Depository
Interest
CVR
Contingent
Value
Right
13.
Fair
Value
Measurements
(continued)
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Shareholder
Information
38
franklintempleton.com
Semiannual
Report
Proxy
Voting
Policies
and
Procedures
The
Fund’s
investment
manager
has
established
Proxy
Voting
Policies
and
Procedures
(Policies)
that
the
Fund
uses
to
determine
how
to
vote
proxies
relating
to
portfolio
securities.
Shareholders
may
view
the
Fund’s
complete
Policies
online
at
franklintempleton.com.
Alternatively,
shareholders
may
request
copies
of
the
Policies
free
of
charge
by
calling
the
Proxy
Group
collect
at
(954)
527-
7678
or
by
sending
a
written
request
to:
Franklin
Templeton
Companies,
LLC,
300
S.E.
2nd
Street,
Fort
Lauderdale,
FL
33301,
Attention:
Proxy
Group.
Copies
of
the
Fund’s
proxy
voting
records
are
also
made
available
online
at
franklintempleton.com
and
posted
on
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission’s
website
at
sec.gov
and
reflect
the
most
recent
12-month
period
ended
June
30.
Quarterly
Schedule
of
Investments
The
Fund
files
a
complete
schedule
of
investments
with
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
for
the
first
and
third
quarters
for
each
fiscal
year
as
an
exhibit
to
its
report
on
Form
N-PORT.
Shareholders
may
view
the
filed
Form
N-PORT
by
visiting
the
Commission’s
website
at
sec.
gov.
The
filed
form
may
also
be
viewed
and
copied
at
the
Commission’s
Public
Reference
Room
in
Washington,
DC.
Information
regarding
the
operations
of
the
Public
Reference
Room
may
be
obtained
by
calling
(800)
SEC-0330.
Householding
of
Reports
and
Prospectuses
You
will
receive,
or
receive
notice
of
the
availability
of,
the
Fund’s
financial
reports
every
six
months.
In
addition,
you
will
receive
an
annual
updated
summary
prospectus
(detail
prospectus
available
upon
request).
To
reduce
Fund
expenses,
we
try
to
identify
related
shareholders
in
a
household
and
send
only
one
copy
of
the
financial
reports
(to
the
extent
received
by
mail)
and
summary
prospectus.
This
process,
called
“householding,”
will
continue
indefinitely
unless
you
instruct
us
otherwise.
If
you
prefer
not
to
have
these
documents
householded,
please
call
us
at
(800)
632-2301.
At
any
time
you
may
view
current
prospectuses/
summary
prospectuses
and
financial
reports
on
our
website.
If
you
choose,
you
may
receive
these
documents
through
electronic
delivery.
132
S
03/23
©
2023
Franklin
Templeton
Investments.
All
rights
reserved.
Authorized
for
distribution
only
when
accompanied
or
preceded
by
a
summary
prospectus
and/or
prospectus.
Investors
should
carefully
consider
a
fund’s
investment
goals,
risks,
charges
and
expenses
before
investing.
A
prospectus
contains
this
and
other
information;
please
read
it
carefully
before
investing.
To
help
ensure
we
provide
you
with
quality
service,
all
calls
to
and
from
our
service
areas
are
monitored
and/or
recorded.
Semiannual
Report
and
Shareholder
Letter
Franklin
Gold
and
Precious
Metals
Fund
Investment
Manager
Distributor
Shareholder
Services
Franklin
Advisers,
Inc.
Franklin
Distributors,
LLC
(800)
DIAL
BEN
®
/
342-5236
franklintempleton.com
(800)
632-2301
Item
2. Code of Ethics.
(a)
The Registrant has adopted a code of ethics that applies to its principal
executive officers and principal financial and accounting officer.
(c)
N/A
(d)
N/A
(f)
Pursuant to Item 13(a)(1), the Registrant is attaching as an exhibit a copy of
its code of ethics that applies to its principal executive officers and
principal financial and accounting officer.
Item
3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.
(a)(1)
The Registrant has an audit committee financial expert serving on its audit
committee.
(2)
The audit committee financial expert is Mary C. Choksi and she is
"independent" as defined under the relevant Securities and Exchange
Commission Rules and Releases.
Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services. N/A
Item
5. Audit Committee
of Listed
Registrants. N/A
Item
6. Schedule of Investments. N/A
Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy
Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies. N/A
Item 8. Portfolio Managers
of Closed-End Management Investment Companies. N/A
Item 9. Purchases of Equity
Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and
Affiliated Purchasers. N/A
Item
10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
There
have been no changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend
nominees to the Registrant's Board of Trustees that would require disclosure
herein.
Item
11. Controls and Procedures.
(a)
Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
.
The Registrant
maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to provide
reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the
Registrant’s filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and
the Investment Company Act of 1940 is recorded, processed, summarized and
reported within the periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Such information is accumulated and communicated to the
Registrant’s management, including its principal executive officer and
principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding
required disclosure. The Registrant’s management, including the principal
executive officer and the principal financial officer, recognizes that any set
of controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can
provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives.
Within 90 days prior to the
filing date of this Shareholder Report on Form N-CSR, the Registrant
had carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation
of the Registrant’s management, including the Registrant’s principal executive
officer and the Registrant’s principal financial officer, of the effectiveness
of the design and operation of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and
procedures. Based on such evaluation, the Registrant’s principal executive
officer and principal financial officer concluded that the Registrant’s disclosure
controls and procedures are effective.
(b)
Changes
in Internal Controls
.
There have been no changes
in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred
during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is
reasonably likely to materially affect the internal control over financial
reporting.
Item
12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management
Investment Company N/A
Item
13. Exhibits.
(a)(1)
Code of Ethics
(a)(2)
Certifications pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 of Matthew
T. Hinkle, Chief Executive Officer - Finance and Administration, and
Christopher Kings, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and
Treasurer
(a)(2)(1)
There were no written solicitations to purchase securities under Rule 23c-1
under the Act sent or given during the period covered by the report by or on
behalf of the Registrant to 10 or more persons.
(a)(2)(2)
There was no change in the Registrant’s independent public accountant during
the period covered by the report.
(b)
Certifications pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 of
Matthew T. Hinkle, Chief Executive Officer - Finance and Administration, and
Christopher Kings, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and
Treasurer
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment
Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
FRANKLIN
GOLD AND PRECIOUS METALS FUND
By S\MATTHEW
T. HINKLE______________________
Matthew T. Hinkle
Chief
Executive Officer - Finance and Administration
Date
March 29, 2023
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment
Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons
on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
By S\MATTHEW
T. HINKLE______________________
Matthew T. Hinkle
Chief
Executive Officer - Finance and Administration
Date
March 29, 2023
By S\CHRISTOPHER
KINGS______________________
Christopher
Kings
Chief
Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer
Date
March 29, 2023
ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS
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