Australian’s wealthiest person, Gina Rinehart, has claimed victory in a long-running court case over the rights to hundreds of millions of dollars of iron ore in Western Australia that ensnared mining giant Rio Tinto and other parties.
Rinehart, through her privately-owned Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd (HPPL), said the Western Australian Supreme Court decision decisively confirmed its rightful ownership of the Hope Downs and East Angelas tenements in the minerals-rich Pilbara region.
But in her judgement Justice Jennifer Smith found Hancock’s legal adversary, Wright Prospecting Pty Ltd (WPLL), had the right to 50% of past and future royalties from Hope Downs.
Wright Prospecting welcomed the decision, saying it launched the action to recover its share of royalties from the Hope Downs 1-3 mines.
“That claim has been upheld. WPPL also sought either a proprietary interest or a royalty in the Hope Downs 4-6 mines and has been successful in its royalty claim,” it said in a statement published by media outlets.
Equally welcoming of the decision was Hancock Prospecting, with Executive Director Jay Newby saying the court firmly rejected “the baseless ownership claims” of WPPL and Rinehart’s children, John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart.
The Hope Downs mines are jointly owned and operated by HPPL subsidiary Hope Downs Iron Ore Pty Ltd and Rio Tinto subsidiary Hamersley WA Pty Ltd.
He said any payments to Wright Prospecting or DFD Rhodes Pty Ltd, another party to the proceedings, would be shared jointly with Rio Tinto, reducing HPPL’s contribution.
“We will consult with our partner and consider our position on these matters,” Newby said.
Who will pay the costs of the legal stoush will be determined in future.
The judgement, which is summarised here, followed a 51-day trial which ended in December 2023 with more than 4,000 documents tendered into evidence.
The proceedings revolved around negotiations and agreements over a 40-year period regarding applications for rights to prospect, explore and develop not only Hope Downs and East Angelas but also other reserves and tenements in the East Pilbara.
They included agreements made decades ago by Rinehart’s father, Lang Hancock, Peter Wright and Don Rhodes, who were friends or colleagues and have since died.
Rinehart’s wealth has been estimated at US$25 billion (A$35 billion).
