Looking to add a few promising S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) stocks to your passive income portfolio?
Then you may want to run your slide rule over Australia's high-performing gold stocks.
I know what you're thinking.
The Aussie gold miners aren't well-known for their high dividend yields. That's because gold miners the world over have tended to plough any extra profits they reap into new growth projects and increasing production levels at existing mines.
In the mining sector, passive income investors more typically turn to ASX 200 stocks like Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) or Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO).
But here's the thing.
The iron ore price has been trending lower and is now below US$100 per tonne. And iron ore – the number one revenue earner for BHP, Fortescue, and Rio Tinto – is broadly forecast to continue sliding by as much as 10% to 20% from here.
Advantage ASX 200 stocks in the gold space
Gold, on the other hand, has been going the other direction.
Rapidly.
Currently at US$3,249 per ounce, the gold price has rocketed 41% since this time last year, when that same ounce was fetching US$2,304.
And a number of prominent analysts believe the gold price will keep marching higher amid ongoing haven demand and strong central bank buying. The analysts at Goldman Sachs, for example, forecast the yellow metal will reach US$3,700 per ounce by the end of 2025.
Which could set ASX 200 stocks like Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) to be the next dividend gems.
With profits surging, Northern Star's last interim dividend of 25 cents per share, paid out on 27 March, was up 66.7% from the prior interim dividend. And Northern Star shares are up 33% in a year. The ASX 200 stock currently trades on an unfranked trailing dividend yield of 2.6%. But that could be significantly higher in 2026.
It's a similar story with Perseus, which increased its FY 2025 interim dividend payout by 92%. Perseus shares are up 57% in a year, and the gold stock currently trades on an unfranked dividend yield of 1.9%.
What are the experts saying?
Plato Asset Management's Peter Gardner pointed to ASX 200 stocks Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) as two gold miners that boosted their interim dividend payouts following strong half-year revenue growth (courtesy of The Australian Financial Review).
According to Gardner:
We should see an increase from here. They definitely have the capacity to do so despite them typically choosing to reinvest, but there's no reason why that should necessarily be the case.
Meanwhile, Sam Berridge, portfolio manager of Perennial Investments' Natural Resources Trust, said Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM) has a "chance for a dividend surprise".
Berridge said:
Capricorn are sitting on excess cash after they raised money late last year at $6 apiece to fund the development of projects, since then, the gold price has rallied significantly.
If gold miners have growth projects which they have secured funding for and also have long mine lives, then I think we'll see returns come back to shareholders.
The ASX 200 gold stock has never paid a dividend yet.
But with revenue and profits rising, and the Capricorn Metals share price up 93% in a year, shareholders may well see the dividend surprise Berridge flagged.
