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MARKET VECTORS GOLD MINERS ETF


Ticker: GDX®
Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.

SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
MAY 1, 2013

GDXSUM

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and other information about the Fund online at http:/  /www.vaneck.com/ library/etfs/. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 888.MKT.VCTR, or by sending an email request to info@vaneck.com. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated May 1, 2013, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index (the “Gold Miners Index”).

FUND FEES AND EXPENSES

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund (“Shares”).

 

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

 

 

 

None

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

Management Fee

 

 

 

0.50

%

 

Other Expenses

 

 

 

0.02

%

 

 

 

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(a)

 

 

 

0.52

%

 

Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursement(a)

 

 

 

0.00

%

 

 

 

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(a)

 

 

 

0.52

%

 

 

(a)

 

 

 

Van Eck Associates Corporation (the “Adviser”) has agreed to waive fees and/or pay Fund expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expense, offering costs, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.53% of the Fund’s average daily net assets per year until at least May 1, 2014. During such time, the expense limitation is expected to continue until the Fund’s Board of Trustees acts to discontinue all or a portion of such expense limitation.

EXPENSE EXAMPLE

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling Shares of the Fund.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% annual return and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

 

 

YEAR

 

EXPENSES

 

1

 

 

 

 

$  53

 

3

 

 

 

 

$167

 

5

 

 

 

 

$291

 

10

 

 

 

 

$653

 

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

The Fund will pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund


   

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Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 5% of the average value of its portfolio.

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in common stocks and American depositary receipts (“ADRs”) of companies involved in the gold mining industry. Such companies may include medium-capitalization companies and foreign issuers. As of December 31, 2012, the Gold Miners Index included 29 securities of companies with a market capitalization range of between approximately $209 million and $35.0 billion and a weighted average market capitalization of $14.5 billion. The Fund’s 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders.

The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Gold Miners Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the Gold Miners Index. The Adviser expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance before fees and expenses and that of the Gold Miners Index will be 95% or better. A figure of 100% would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Gold Miners Index.

The Fund may also utilize convertible securities and participation notes to seek performance that corresponds to the Gold Miners Index.

The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Gold Miners Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. As of December 31, 2012, the Gold Miners Index was concentrated in the gold mining industry.

PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND

Investors in the Fund should be willing to accept a high degree of volatility in the price of the Fund’s Shares and the possibility of significant losses. An investment in the Fund involves a substantial degree of risk. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund.

Risk of Investing in the Gold Mining Industry. Because as currently constituted the Gold Miners Index is concentrated in the gold mining industry, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the gold mining industry. Competitive pressures may have a significant effect on the financial condition of such companies in the gold mining industry. Also, gold mining companies are highly dependent on the price of gold bullion. These prices may fluctuate substantially over short periods of time so the Fund’s Share price may be more volatile than other types of investments. In times of significant inflation or great economic uncertainty, gold and other precious metals may outperform traditional investments such as bonds and stocks. However, in times of stable economic growth, traditional equity and debt investments could offer greater appreciation potential and the value of gold and other precious metals may be adversely affected, which could in turn affect the Fund’s returns. If a natural disaster or other event with a significant economic impact occurs in a region where the companies in which the Fund invests operate, such disaster or event could negatively affect the profitability of such companies and, in turn, the Fund’s investment in them.

Risk of Investing in ADRs. ADRs are issued by U.S. banks or trust companies, and entitle the holder to all dividends and capital gains that are paid out on the underlying foreign shares. With respect to ADRs not included in the Gold Miners Index, the Fund’s investments in ADRs may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market and may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Gold Miners Index. In addition, investments in ADRs that are not included in the Gold Miners Index may increase tracking error.

Risk of Investing in Foreign Issuers. Investments in the securities, including depositary receipts, of foreign issuers involve risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities. These additional risks include greater market volatility, the availability of less reliable financial information, higher transactional and custody costs, taxation by foreign governments, decreased market liquidity and political instability. Because the Fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies and some of the income received by the Fund generally will be in foreign currencies, changes in currency exchange rates may negatively impact the Fund’s return. In addition, the Fund may invest in depositary receipts which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities.

Risk of Investing in Medium-Capitalization Companies. Medium-capitalization companies may be more volatile and more likely than large-capitalization companies to have narrower product lines, fewer financial resources, less management depth and experience and less competitive strength. Returns on investments in securities of medium-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies.

Equity Securities Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific issuers in which the Fund invests. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities and debt in a company’s


   

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capital structure with respect to priority in right to a share of corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater dividend risk than preferred securities or debt instruments. In addition, while broad market measures of equity securities have historically generated higher average returns than fixed income securities, equity securities have also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns.

Market Risk. The prices of the securities in the Fund are subject to the risks associated with investing in the securities market, including general economic conditions and sudden and unpredictable drops in value. An investment in the Fund may lose money.

Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Gold Miners Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Gold Miners Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Gold Miners Index. Because the Fund bears the costs and risks associated with buying and selling securities while such costs and risks are not factored into the return of the Gold Miners Index, the Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Gold Miners Index. In addition, the Fund may not be able to invest in certain securities included in the Gold Miners Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions they represent of the Gold Miners Index, due to legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries or a lack of liquidity on stock exchanges in which such securities trade. The Fund is expected to value certain of its investments based on fair value prices. To the extent the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) based on fair value prices and the value of the Gold Miners Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Gold Miners Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Gold Miners Index may be adversely affected.

Replication Management Risk. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund of equity securities traded on an exchange, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. However, because the Fund is not “actively” managed, unless a specific security is removed from the Gold Miners Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer was in financial trouble. Therefore, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.

Premium/Discount Risk. Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for Shares may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholders may sustain losses.

Non-Diversified Risk. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). Therefore, the Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single company. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries to the extent the Gold Miners Index concentrates in a particular sector or sectors or industry or group of industries. Based on the current composition of the Gold Miners Index, the Fund’s assets are concentrated in the gold mining industry; therefore, the Fund will be subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on that industry will negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of sectors or industries.

PERFORMANCE

The bar chart that follows shows how the Fund performed for the calendar years shown. The table below the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual returns (before and after taxes). The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by comparing the Fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns for one year, five years and since inception compared with the Fund’s benchmark index and a broad measure of market performance. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after income taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available online at www.marketvectorsetfs.com.


   

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Annual Total Returns—Calendar Years

 

 

 

 

 

Best Quarter:

 

19.92%

 

3Q ’12

Worst Quarter:

 

-30.20%

 

3Q ’08

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2012

The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Fund through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Past One Year

 

Past Five Years

 

Since Inception
(5/16/2006)

 

Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (return before taxes)

 

 

 

-9.16

%

 

 

 

 

0.62

%

 

 

 

 

2.98

%

 

Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (return after taxes on distributions)

 

 

 

-9.47

%

 

 

 

 

0.47

%

 

 

 

 

2.76

%

 

Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of
Fund Shares)

 

 

 

-5.95

%

 

 

 

 

0.45

%

 

 

 

 

2.43

%

 

                                     

NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

 

 

-8.46

%

 

 

 

 

1.17

%

 

 

 

 

3.53

%

 

S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

 

 

1.66

%

 

 

 

 

7.10

%

 

 

 

 

3.71

%

 

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Investment Adviser. Van Eck Associates Corporation.

Portfolio Managers. The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:

 

 

 

 

 

Name

 

Title with Adviser

 

Date Began Managing the Fund

 

Hao-Hung (Peter) Liao

 

Portfolio Manager

 

May 2006

George Cao

 

Portfolio Manager

 

December 2007

PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES

The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in a large specified number of Shares, each called a “Creation Unit,” or multiples thereof. A Creation Unit consists of 50,000 Shares.

Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of the Fund are listed on NYSE Arca Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) and because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than or less than NAV.

TAX INFORMATION

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.


888.MKT.VCTR
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(05/13)