At record prices, why don't ASX gold miners pay high dividends?

One of the most dramatic trends on investment markets this year has been the seemingly unstoppable rise of gold, and by extension, ASX gold miners. The precious metal has gone from about US$2,640 an ounce to this week's record high of US$4,426 over just 2025 to date.

That gain of approximately 67.65% means that gold has eclipsed almost every asset over the past 12 months, including both ASX and US stocks.

This gold price gain has, naturally, resulted in a boom for ASX gold stocks. Miners like Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM), Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU), West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF) and Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) have seen their shares explode this year. Newmont stock, to illustrate, is currently up 163.8% since 1 January.

As a result of this modern-day gold rush, ASX investors might expect to receive a dividend bonanza from their ASX gold shares. After all, that's what we saw from iron ore miners like Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) in 2022 when iron ore was going through the roof at the time.

Yet far from the 5-8% dividend yields we saw from BHP and Fortescue back in 2022, gold miners are offering much less today. Perseus Mining stock, for instance, currently trades on a yield of 0.92%.

Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) offers investors 1.53%, while Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) comes in above average with its 2.05% yield.

Gold miners tend to be more sensitive to the underlying price of their commodity than iron ore stocks do. As such, the triple-digit gains we have seen in many ASX gold stocks this year have played a significant part in blunting those yields.

Why don't ASX gold miners pay high dividends at record prices?

But even taking this into account, gold miners still tend to offer far lower levels of income than other mining stocks. So why might this be?Well, it probably comes down to the difficult economics of gold mining.

To illustrate, let's compare a gold miner like Northern Star Resources to Fortescue.

In its 2025 full-year results from August, Fortescue informed investors that it enjoyed an average price of US$84.79 for every dry metric tonne of iron ore that it sold over FY2025. That compares to an average cost of extraction of US$17.99 per wet metric tonne.

That implies a gross profit margin of 78.78% per tonne

Meanwhile, Northern Star reported a cost of US$2,163 for every ounce of gold that it mined in FY2025. It managed to achieve an average sale price of US$3,922 per ounce over the same period. That's a gross margin of 44.85%.

So even in the midst of a gold boom, Northern Star is only able to enjoy a gross margin of almost half that of Fortescue. And that's with Fortescue in the midst of a tough iron ore market.

With that low margin, a gold miner is simply unable to spin off the levels of free cash flow to fund bumper dividends in the same way that a low-cost iron ore miner like Fortescue can. This brutal math is why gold miners are probably never going to be strong dividend payers in the same vein as other ASX mining shares. It's a different story with those capital gains that ASX gold stocks have enjoyed this year, though.

The post At record prices, why don't ASX gold miners pay high dividends? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Newmont. 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 recommended BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson. 2025