Judgment day in court battle for Hancock mining riches

Judgment day has arrived in a bitter multibillion-dollar legal stoush that forced Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, to defend her iron ore empire.

The complex battle pitted Mrs Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, against the heirs of mining pioneer Peter Wright and engineer Don Rhodes, amid allegations of decades-old contract breaches.

They were fighting over the spoils from the massive Rio Tinto-operated Hope Downs mining complex in Western Australia, with a judgment to be handed down on Wednesday.

Wright Prospecting demanded a share of unmined and mined Hope Downs tenements and royalties, amid a claim Hancock Prospecting breached a 1980s partnership agreement.

DFD Rhodes also claimed a royalty share of Hope Downs’ production, over an alleged deal with Mrs Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock and Mr Wright that handed over tenements in the 1960s.

The bruising encounter involved Mrs Rinehart’s eldest children, John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart, over a claim their grandfather left them a hefty share in the Pilbara mining resources he discovered in the 1950s.

Mining giant Rio Tinto, as the joint venture partner in Hope Downs, was also a party in the Supreme Court battle and could be on the hook financially depending on which way the judgment swings.

The 51-day trial featured sensational allegations against Mrs Rinehart – which have been vehemently denied – including that she devised an unlawful scheme to defraud her children.

About two dozen of the “smartest legal minds” in the country, costing an estimated $250,000 a day, packed a Perth courtroom for hearing that ended in December 2023.

At the time, Justice Jennifer Smith said the case would “turn upon an assessment of the large volume of historical documents”.

Mrs Rinehart inherited her father’s iron ore discovery in the Pilbara region and forged a mining empire after he died in 1992.

She developed mines from tenements at Hope Downs, signing a deal in 2005 with Rio Tinto, which has a 50 per cent stake in the project.

The Hope Downs mining complex near Newman is one of Australia’s largest and most successful iron ore projects, with multiple open-pit mines.

Mrs Rinehart’s wealth is estimated to be about $40 billion and she is the executive chair of Hancock Prospecting.