The Andean Silver Ltd (ASX: ASL) share price is in focus today after the company pinpointed a bonanza-grade silver-gold trend at its Cerro Bayo Project’s Juanita prospect, returning surface samples up to 62,663 grams per tonne silver equivalent.

What did Andean Silver report?

• Surface sampling at Juanita prospect returned assays up to 62,663g/t silver equivalent (25,047g/t Ag & 453.2g/t Au), or 755g/t gold equivalent
• High-grade breccia zone defined over 2 kilometres strike length, with observed widths up to 18 metres
• Historic drilling and channel results include 17.1m @ 194g/t AgEq and 1.6m @ 1,209g/t AgEq
• Juanita sits outside the existing Cerro Bayo 136Moz AgEq mineral resource
• Andean Silver held $53.4 million in cash at the end of March quarter 2026

What else do investors need to know?

The Juanita discovery marks the third major greenfield exploration area identified by Andean Silver at Cerro Bayo, indicating a pathway for further growth beyond current resources. Juanita’s mineralisation differs from the typical epithermal veins of the district, displaying high-grade precious metals across multiple events and a large breccia system.

Recent mapping suggests past drilling was limited, with much of Juanita’s most prospective zones remaining untested. The company is now embarking on detailed geological work and systematic sampling along the 2-kilometre trend to firm up priority drill targets.

What did Andean Silver management say?

Andean Silver Managing Director Matthew Allen said:

Juanita is emerging as a potentially significant silver-gold prospect. Its mineralisation differs from the vein-style deposits common across the Company’s tenure, with high-grade silver and gold occurring over a substantial strike length and through multiple mineralising events.

Juanita historically has remained underexplored for 20 years due to the subtle surface expression of the system exposed on surface and limited intersection in historic scout drilling.

Juanita represents a third new large exploration area identified outside the existing resources at the Cerro Bayo Project, which include the Guanaco and Droughtmaster corridors, building Andean’s future prospect pipeline.

What’s next for Andean Silver?

Andean Silver plans to accelerate mapping, channel sampling, and drill planning at Juanita, targeting high-grade zones for maiden drill tests. Broader objectives include ramping up both brownfields and greenfields exploration throughout Cerro Bayo to grow resources and restart production.

The company is well funded to support these campaigns, with feasibility and resource upgrade studies running in parallel. Andean aims to transition Cerro Bayo from an exploration project into a near-term development and production asset by late 2027.

Andean Silver share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Andean Silver shares have risen 31%, outperforming the S&P/ASX All Ords Index (ASX: XAO), which has risen 1% over the same period.

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The post Andean Silver Bonanza silver-gold unearthed at Cerro Bayo’s Juanita prospect appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Starting an investment portfolio can feel harder than it needs to be.

There are thousands of shares to choose from and plenty of market noise.

The good news for beginners is that ASX exchange traded funds (ETFs) can make the first step simpler.

This is because they offer investors exposure to a basket of shares in one easy trade.

With that in mind, here are five ASX ETFs that I think could be good options for beginner investors in July.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF could be a good starting point.

It gives investors exposure to over a thousand companies across developed markets. That means investors are not relying only on Australia’s banks, miners, and supermarkets to drive returns.

This fund can work as a global foundation because it spreads money across countries, sectors, currencies, and businesses. A beginner does not need to know which overseas company will be the next big winner to get started.

Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS)

But if you do want some exposure to the local market, the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF could be worth considering.

This fund tracks a large basket of Australian shares, including banks, miners, healthcare shares, retailers, property groups, infrastructure businesses, and industrial companies.

Australian shares can also be attractive because of dividends and franking credits. The local market is not as broad as the US or global markets, but it still gives investors exposure to some strong, cash-generating businesses.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

For US exposure, the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF is worth considering.

It invests in 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange.

These are businesses linked to areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, software, chips, digital advertising, streaming, ecommerce, and consumer technology.

This fund will likely be more volatile than a broad market ETF, so beginners should understand that it can fall sharply at times.

But over the long term, it gives exposure to some of the companies shaping how people work, shop, communicate, and use technology. That is likely to be a good thing over the next decade.

Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

Another ASX ETF to look at is the Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF.

It gives investors easy access to companies helping protect networks, data, cloud systems, devices, payments, and digital identities.

Cybersecurity is becoming a larger cost for businesses as more activity moves online. The risks are also growing as companies use more cloud software, remote access, artificial intelligence tools, and connected systems.

This means that it gives beginners exposure to a long-term theme that should remain relevant as the digital economy expands.

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

Finally, the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF could be worth a closer look.

This ASX ETF takes a selective approach to US shares. It looks for companies believed to have sustainable competitive advantages and attractive valuations.

In many respects, it mirrors the approach that legendary investor Warren Buffett used during his highly successful career.

This fund could appeal to beginners who want something more targeted than a standard index fund, but not as narrow as a single-sector ETF.

The post 5 ASX ETFs for beginner investors in July appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF and VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF and BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF and Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Economic changes in Australia over the past year have significantly changed the investment equation for some compelling ASX shares, with tax changes and higher interest rates.

Changes to negative gearing have made many residential property investments less compelling. Meanwhile, changes to the capital gains discount have made capital gains-focused investments a little less compelling too, when it comes time to sell that asset.

Therefore, commercial property with a focus on income returns could be an excellent buy, particularly following all of the interest rate rises this year, with the valuation discounts that have opened up with some ASX shares.

Four real estate investment trusts (REITs)

There are four REITs that are particularly attractive to me right now.

Two are focused on industrial properties – Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP) and Dexus Industria REIT (ASX: DXI). Industrial properties have tailwinds for demand like e-commerce adoption, data centres and onshoring of supply chains.

A third REIT I like is farmland owner Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF). We all need food and the REIT has rental indexation built into its contracts.

The fourth REIT I really like is Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW), a very diversified option that’s invested in a wide array of properties. It also has contracted rental growth, with fixed increases or rises linked to inflation.

Strong dividend yields

Consider this: many residential properties offer a negative net rental – also called negative gearing, including the likely interest payments. Commercial properties, on the other hand, have a very positive yield. It’s a clear win for income investors, in my view.

Each of the REITs has a dividend yield that’s competitive with or superior to that of term deposits (despite the higher interest-rate environment).

Based on their FY26 payouts, these are the current distribution yields for the ASX shares:

• Rural Funds has a 5.3% distribution yield
• Centuria Industrial REIT has a 5.6% distribution yield
• Dexus Industria REIT has a 6.6% distribution yield
• Charter Hall Long WALE REIT has a 6.9% distribution yield

Big discounts

One of the best reasons to like these REITs is that they are trading at a significant discount to their underlying value.

These ASX shares report a net asset value (NAV) or net tangible assets (NTA), which tells us what the net figure of the property valuations, the loans, cash and so on are worth.

They look great value compared to their December 2025 figures. Higher interest rates may have hurt investor confidence, but I believe that when interest rate cuts occur – possibly next year – this could push up the share prices again.

At the time of writing, these are the following discounts:

• Rural Funds is trading at a 28% discount
• Centuria Industrial REIT is trading at a 24% discount
• Dexus Industria REIT is trading at a 26% discount
• Charter Hall Long WALE REIT is trading at a 21% discount

At the current levels, I think all four could outperform the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the next two to three years.

The post What’s not to love about these discounted ASX shares with big dividend yields? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Rural Funds Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Rural Funds Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.