Wright Prospecting

Mining royalties paid to all Aboriginal groups in WA are less than half the amount paid to four wealthy families, new research has found.

A court has rejected Gina Rinehart and her company Hancock Prospecting's claims that giving her children access to certain documents would significantly prejudice the mining magnate.

Descendants of two WA mining pioneers are gearing up for a legal battle more than a decade in the making over iron ore royalties believed to be worth billions of dollars.

Dozens of lawyers have filled a courtroom for the start of a legal showdown between descendants of mining pioneers Lang Hancock and Peter Wright over billions of dollars in iron ore royalties.

A lawyer for Wright Prospecting claims Gina Rinehart and her father Lang Hancock knew disputed Pilbara tenements were held on behalf of the Hancock and Wright partnership since the mid-1980s, a court heard today.

Wright Prospecting has rubbished Hancock Prospecting’s claim that it took on significant financial expenditure and risks in developing iron ore projects on mining tenements in the Pilbara.

Lawyers for Wright Prospecting continue to unearth correspondence exchanged over 40 years, alleging Hancock Prospecting and Gina Rinehart had always known about royalties payment, during a Supreme Court trial.

The spotlight has moved to another WA mining pioneer, Don Rhodes, as DFD Rhodes makes its opening submissions during a lengthy court trial over billions of dollars in iron ore royalties.

Their descendants are fighting in a costly legal showdown, but mining pioneers Lang Hancock, Peter Wright, and Don Rhodes were friends who trusted each other, the Supreme Court of WA has heard.

Bianca Rinehart backflipped on her initial resistance towards siding with her brother John Hancock to fight their mother, Gina Rinehart, the Supreme Court of WA has heard.

Hancock Prospecting has made its opening submissions during a trial over billions of dollars worth of iron ore royalties, starting off by rebutting claims made by DFD Rhodes.

Hancock Prospecting has called Wright Prospecting's reading of a 1987 agreement a "legal absurdity" during a Supreme Court trial over billions of dollars in iron ore royalties.

Peter Wright's children allegedly knew about Hancock Prospecting's interest in disputed Pilbara tenements for more than 20 years before starting legal action, the Supreme Court of WA has heard.

Hancock Prospecting has thrown its founder Lang Hancock under the bus, claiming he breached his director's duty while married to Rose Porteous, during a Supreme Court trial.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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