• Final ruling ends years-long legal battle over major mining project
• Order to pay financial shares to heirs and former partners while retaining ownership

An Australian court has ordered the country’s richest individual, Gina Rinehart, to pay a portion of the earnings from her mining empire in a long-awaited ruling following a dispute that stretched over more than a decade.

Rinehart’s wealth is estimated at around A$38 billion. She inherited her father’s iron ore business in 1992 before expanding operations in the mineral-rich Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Complex family and commercial dispute

The case stemmed from claims made by two of Rinehart’s children, along with heirs of her late father’s former business partners, who argued they were entitled to a share of mining rights and related financial returns.

After more than 13 years of litigation, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, ordering Rinehart to pay past and future royalties to rival heirs while keeping the mining rights registered in her name.

Major project at the center of the dispute

The conflict revolves around the “Hope Downs” project, one of Australia’s largest and most profitable iron ore developments. The dispute traces back to a long-standing agreement between Rinehart’s father, Lang Hancock, and his partner Peter Wright, to manage their joint interests through a company called Hanwright.

During a 51-day trial in 2023, Wright’s children accused Rinehart of breaching that agreement, seeking rights to mining profits and project revenues.

Partial sharing of profits

The project is jointly operated by global mining giant Rio Tinto and Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, generating about A$832 million for her company last year.

Rio Tinto pays a 2.5% royalty, and the court ruled that half of that amount must go to the Wright family. Judge Jennifer Smith described the outcome as “mixed,” with both sides winning and losing parts of their claims.

Family disputes inside the case

The proceedings also involved Rinehart’s two children, Bianca Rinehart and John Hancock, who accused their mother of shifting valuable mining assets out of a family trust, cutting them off from the wealth.

While the court rejected their claims to ownership rights, it partially accepted another claim related to project revenues brought by the family of a late engineer.

Mixed reactions to the ruling

Hancock Prospecting welcomed the decision, saying it confirmed its ownership of the Hope Downs project. The Wright family also expressed satisfaction that the long-running dispute had reached a favourable conclusion.

Rinehart is known as one of Australia’s major supporters of sports, charitable initiatives, and conservative political causes.