Neither of these payouts were cut last year and both are expected to remain safe. Indeed, one of these companies is expected to increase its payout significantly this year.

Better than gold?

FTSE 100 gold miner Polymetal International (LSE: POLY) operates in Russia and Kazakhstan. It’s the largest gold stock listed on the London market and has one of the most generous dividends.

The gold price has pulled back from last summer’s record highs of more than $2,000 per ounce. But, at $1,800 per ounce, the yellow metal is still worth around 10% more than a year ago.

A strong market is naturally good news for gold miners. Polymetal’s management has been doing its best to take advantage of this situation. Production rose by 4% to 1.5 million ounces last year. Some spending was also brought forward to take advantage of market conditions and avoid any disruption due to Covid-19.

Low costs mean the group benefited from a 40% operating profit margin during the 12 months to 30 June. Forecasts suggest this could rise to 50% for the 2020 calendar year, supporting strong cash generation.

Brokers expect a dividend of 87p for 2020 and 123p for 2021. This gives Polymetal a forecast dividend yield of around 6% for 2020 and more than 8% for 2021.

A safe dividend share?

Of course, these bumper payouts rely on the price of gold remaining high. There’s no way to predict how likely this is. Gold is often seen as a safe haven trade in troubled times, so one possible scenario is that the gold price will slump as the world returns to normal after the pandemic.

I view Polymetal as one of the more speculative dividend shares in my portfolio. But the company has a good record of returning surplus cash and Polymetal’s profits don’t depend directly on an economic recovery.

8% income from property

My second stock is a little more unusual. Real Estate Credit Investments (LSE: RECI) is a property finance company with a market-cap of around £330m.

The firm provides loans secured on a mix of property in Western Europe. According to the company’s January update, its largest holdings include an apartment complex in Lisbon, an office development in Paris, and care homes and hotels in the UK.

In total, RECI has 58 loans secured against a portfolio valued at £380m.

There are obviously some real risks here. Many of the properties on which RECI has secured loans will have been affected by the pandemic. Although the company said in January it had “no concerns” about the creditworthiness of these positions, in my view, repayment problems could still emerge. This would hit the share price.

I see RECIE as a pure dividend share. Management has said it intends to maintain the 12p per share dividend, giving a yield of more than 8%. I’m happy with that cash income, but I don’t expect this payout to grow for the foreseeable future. That means the share price may not rise much either.