ASX mining shares like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) have always captured vast amounts of both attention and capital on the Australian stock exchange. This is understandable. After all, mining has always been a major source of wealth for our country, contributing significantly to our exports and employing hundreds of thousands of workers.
However, miners are also a tricky sector to invest in. Unlike the majority of other ASX shares, miners have little control over their own destinies. That's because they are subject to the capricious whims of global commodity prices.
So today, let's check out the shares of two of the ASX's most prominent miners – BHP and Rio – and dive into which might offer superior dividend income today.
As we've alluded to, BHP and Rio are both at the mercy of volatile commodity prices. However, both of these companies are mature businesses with relatively low cost bases when it comes to their largest operations. This enables both to remain profitable and thus able to pay dividends during all stages of the commodity cycle.
This, by extension, means that when commodity prices (mainly iron ore for BHP and Rio) are low, income is still coming shareholders' way. But when prices are high, shareholders can be showered with cash. Just look at the monstrous dividends that investors bagged back in 2021 and 2022 to see that in action.
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BHP vs Rio: Which ASX miner pays the higher dividend?
Today, with iron ore at just over US$100 per tonne and copper at about US$10,700 per tonne, we could be described as being in the middle of a cycle. Prices aren't historically high, but also not meaningfully cheap.
But let's look at what's on offer from BHP and Rio.
At current prices, BHP shares are trading on a trailing dividend yield of 4.01%. That comes with full franking credits attached, as is BHP's habit.
This yield stems from the two dividend payments that the 'Big Australian' has doled out this year. The first was the 79-cent-per-share interim dividend from March. The second, the final dividend, worth 91.93 cents per share, was doled out back in September.
Both of those payments were down from the $1.09 and $1.11 payments that investors respectively enjoyed over 2024.
Turning to Rio, this ASX mining share is currently trading on a dividend yield of 4.59%. That comes from Rio's interim final payout from April, worth $3.71 per share, and its $2.22 per share interim dividend from September. Both dividends also came fully franked. However, both payments were also downgrades from 2024, when investors bagged $3.93 and $2.62, respectively.
Foolish takeaway
So it appears Rio is the winner when it comes to dividends from the ASX's largest mining shares today. 4.59% is a lot better than 4.01%, after all. A word of caution, though. These yields represent what has already been paid out, not what might get paid out over 2026 and beyond. We will have to wait and see what happens next year to find that out.
