News Articles

Lang Hancock's descendants Gina Rinehart (top left), John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart (bottom left) and Peter Wright's descendants including Angela Bennett (centre), Leonie Baldock and Alexandra Burt, are in a major court dispute.

Mining 29 May 2026

Appeals pile on in iron ore battle

More mining billionaires have lodged appeals in the mammoth legal fight over an iron ore empire, with the matter scheduled for a 20-day hearing in the state's highest court.

Lang Hancock's descendant Gina Rinehart (right) and Peter Wright's descendant including Angela Bennett (left) are among those in a major court dispute.

Mining 13 May 2026

Hancock’s appeals keep iron ore battle going

A colossal legal battle over Hancock Prospecting's mining empire continues with appeal notices officially lodged, naming Wright Prospecting, DFD Rhodes, the Rinehart children, and Rio Tinto as respondents.

FRONT: Angela Bennett (left), Bianca Rinehart, and Gina Rinehart sought a stake in Hancock Prospecting. Background: Peter Wright's descendants Alex Burt and Leonie Baldock (left), DFD Rhodes CEO Matthew Keady, and John Hancock (right)

Mining 01 May 2026

More docs flagged for Wright, Hancock costs

Costs of a landmark trial over an iron ore empire are yet to be assessed, as lawyers for the mining billionaires continue to disagree in court.

Mining 23 Apr 2026

Wright, Hancock start costs talks

More issues have been raised about costs in the legal battle among Lang Hancock and Peter Wright's descendants over an iron ore empire in the Pilbara.

Mining 15 Apr 2026

Behind billionaires’ legal battle for mining empire

A landmark decision after a 51-day trial with more than 4,000 documents only scratched the surface of the complex relationship between some of the state's mining pioneers and their heirs.

Mining 15 Apr 2026

Hancock to pay iron ore royalties

Rival heirs are entitled to Gina Rinehart-led Hancock Prospecting's iron ore royalties over some mining tenements in the Pilbara, the state's highest court ruled.

Regulation 13 Apr 2026

Wright, Hancock court decision looms

An upcoming judgment over billions of dollars of iron ore royalties and shared ownership of mining tenements is expected to be short-lived with parties almost certain to appeal.

Property 01 Apr 2026

Billionaire buys The Guildford Hotel

The Guildford Hotel has changed hands after 20 years, purchased by Western Australian billionaire Leonie Baldock for $17.1 million.

Wright's income is from a 1962 iron ore royalties deal.

Mining 25 Mar 2026

Wright Prospecting posts $239m profit

Three of Perth's wealthiest families have received a financial boost after their private company posted another big profit courtesy of a 54-year old royalties deal with Rio Tinto.

The Margarat Maru at Geraldton, being loaded with Australia’s first export shipment of iron ore in March 1966. Photo: State Library of WA

Mining 19 Mar 2026

Iron ore exports hit 60-year milestone

Business News looks back at the pioneering role played by the likes of Lang Hancock, the little-known Stan Hilditch and Collie's Griffin Coal.

Trevor and Maitland Parker, and Wittenoom's asbestos tailings (composite image). Photos: Illuminate Films

Indigenous 06 Nov 2025

The fight to clean WA’s poisoned heart

Driven by decades of loss, the Banjima people are taking action to force accountability for those responsible for Australia's worst industrial disaster.

WA Premier Roger Cook says the company responsible should pay to clean Wittenoom. Photo: Tom Zaunmayr

North-West 04 Nov 2025

CSR the key target for Wittenoom

French-owned industrials company CSR is the prime target for stakeholders involved in a renewed push to clean-up Wittenoom's deadly asbestos tailings.

The late Maitland Parker's wife, Marjorie Hughes, second from right, with daughters Renira, Carmel, and Coreen Parker. Photo: Tom Zaunmayr

Indigenous 17 Oct 2025

Govt mulls Wittenoom ultimatum

The state government is weighing up its response to an ultimatum from traditional owners to remediate Wittenoom's deadly asbestos tailings or face legal action.

The company's assets include Rhodes House in West Perth.

Mining 28 Mar 2025

DFD Rhodes posts $96m profit

The family company established by Pilbara mining pioneer, the late Don Rhodes, has reported another bumper profit as it continues to benefit from very large iron ore royalty payments.

The founders of WA’s largest private companies are as varied as Gina Rinehart (left), Laurence Escalante and Megan Wynne.

Special Reports 26 Feb 2025

Hancock poised to get even bigger

There have been big shifts in the ranking of WA's largest, and most profitable, private companies over the past year.

Angela Bennett, Leonie Baldock and Alexandra Burt

Deals 19 Feb 2025

Rhodes Ridge deal rewrites Rich List

Mitsui's new stake in Rio Tinto's Rhodes Ridge iron ore project has unlocked $10 billion in wealth for the heirs of Peter Wright, pushing Angela Bennett into fifth on our Rich List.

Regulation 12 Feb 2025

Julian Wright to reveal litigation backer

The Supreme Court of Western Australia has ordered Julian Wright to disclose his litigation funder and attend court, as the dispute over his stake in the family's mining empire continues.

Mining 01 Nov 2024

Wright Prospecting posts $277m profit

Perth company Wright Prospecting has reported another massive profit as its low-key owners reap the benefits of an iron ore royalties deal negotiated more than 50 years ago.

Appointments 18 Oct 2024

Appointments October 18, 2024

Our weekly appointments wrap includes Aaron Rankine, Ian Macliver, Carol Adams, Ashleigh Lyford, John Gillam, Suzanne Brown, and Romina Raschilla.

Mining 17 Sep 2024

High Court refuses Wright appeal

The High Court of Australia has thrown out Julian Wright's application to appeal a decision over his family's iron ore wealth.

Government 10 Sep 2024

Asbestos weighs on council’s budget

An unsealed road passing by Wittenoom's asbestos-laced gorges is costing dearly and asbestos compensation claims are still being lodged.

Indigenous 24 May 2024

Aboriginal mining royalties hit $370m

New financial reports show a handful of Aboriginal groups gaining more income from mining royalties but others going backwards, while the sector as a whole remains the poor cousin.

Government 01 May 2024

State govt faces legal action over Wittenoom mess

The state government could be dragged to court by Pilbara traditional owners for failing to clean up Wittenoom's mountains of deadly asbestos tailings.

Government 23 Apr 2024

Part of Wittenoom problem to remain unburied

Wittenoom's asbestos-laced racetrack and airstrip will not be remediated as part of work to bury the town's contaminated infrastructure

Government 17 Apr 2024

Cost to clean up Wittenoom revealed

Wittenoom's asbestos tailings would cost $200 million to clean up, according to a buried state government report which also details a preferred remediation method

Mining 04 Dec 2023

Rinehart children’s claims ‘just silly’, court told

The complex litigation over iron ore royalties resumed in court with Hancock Prospecting's lawyer coming out swinging against claims made by Gina Rinehart's children.

Mining 20 Nov 2023

Rinehart children in court for royalties trial

Gina Rinehart's eldest children have shown up to observe the Supreme Court trial disputing the ownership of assets under their grandfather's mining empire.

Mining 03 Nov 2023

Rio Tinto had no clue of Wright, court told

Rio Tinto had no knowledge of the Wright family's interests in the Pilbara tenements it co-owns with Hancock Prospecting, a court was told.

Podcasts 27 Oct 2023

Mark My Words October 27 2023

In this podcast, Mark Beyer and Simone Grogan discuss lithium takeover battles; the interest rate outlook; local government elections; and profit results from WA's biggest companies, including ABN Group, Perron Group, Roy Hill and Wright Prospecting.

Professions 27 Oct 2023

Perth family spends $12m on lawyers

Perth's super-rich Wright family has reaped a further $235 million in profits from iron ore royalties, but the most revealing number in their family company accounts was the big spend on lawyers.

Mining 23 Oct 2023

Hancock claims Wright children gave up rights

Mining heirs Michael Wright and Angela Bennett knew they already gave up their interests in mining tenements likely worth in the billions of dollars since the 1980s, the court was told.

Mining 20 Oct 2023

Lang shut out Gina, court told

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart was kept in the dark when her father Lang Hancock transferred shares out of the family trust, a Hancock Prospecting lawyer told the court.

Mining 18 Oct 2023

Hancock lawyers pounce on Wright’s claims

Nothing supports Wright Prospecting's interpretation of mining agreements struck by mining pioneers in the 1980s, Hancock Prospecting claims in court.

Mining 10 Oct 2023

Wright lawyers rebut 23-year delay claim

Lawyers have disputed Hancock Prospecting's allegation that Wright Prospecting took more than 20 years to start its legal action, during a Supreme Court trial over mining royalties.

Mining 09 Oct 2023

Wright claims prevail over Rinehart children, court told

Wright Prospecting's claims over Pilbara mining tenements would trump any interests sought by Gina Rinehart's children, lawyers say during a Supreme Court trial over billions of dollars.

Mining 05 Oct 2023

Wright, Hancock trial nears close

The legal showdown over billions of dollars in iron ore royalties has entered the final phase after lawyers of mining heirs start their closing remarks in court.

Mining 04 Sep 2023

Royalties trial: Hancock lawyer probes expert

Lawyers for Hancock Prospecting have doubled down on the risk it claimed to have shouldered in the decades taken to develop Pilbara tenements, during a court trial over billions of dollars of royalties.

Mining 31 Aug 2023

Costs talk in Wright, Hancock dispute

Lawyers for descendants of mining pioneers Lang Hancock and Peter Wright have stayed busy ironing out issues related to the ongoing trial over billions of dollars in royalties.

Mining 11 Aug 2023

Hancock’s marriage caused schism, court told

The relationship breakdown between Lang Hancock and daughter Gina Rinehart during his marriage to Rose Porteous was laid bare during a WA Supreme Court trial over iron ore royalties.

Podcasts 11 Aug 2023

Mark My Words podcast August 11 2023

In this podcast Mark Beyer and Mark Pownall discuss Aboriginal Cultural Heritage, planning backflip, airlines, road project delays, LNG industrial action, Hancock and more

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