Iron ore majors ramp up supply even as China faces challenges
Iron ore is one of the year’s worst performing major commodities, slumping by almost a quarter as China’s property crisis drags on.
Gina Rinehart, the world of mining’s 4th richest person, is meeting fellow billionaire Stan Perron in the Australian supreme court this week in a fight over – no surprises here – iron ore royalties.
Perron, who is 89 years old and worth about $1.8 billion, made his money in real estate but also receives millions of dollars from iron mining in Australia’s Pilbara region thanks to a deal he struck with Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock many years ago.
Hancock discovered the world’s largest iron deposit in the Pilbara in 1952.
Perth Now reports an airplane trip over the area in late 2010 led Perron to believe he could be entitled to more than he has been receiving:
In 1964, Mr Perron invested 500 pounds into the iron ore venture between Mr Hancock and the late Peter Wright and in return received 15 per cent in royalties from the Tom Price mines.
When Rio Tinto started mining in Brockman, 60km from Tom Price, Mr Perron claims he was told by Mrs Rinehart’s right-hand man, Tad Watroba, that it was not covered by the agreement he made with Mr Hancock.
But after his trip he realised the mine was much closer than he thought and he could be entitled to a bigger cut of the iron ore pie.
In a separate legal bid Rinehart is taking Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) to court, demanding the world’s third largest miner pay her royalties for iron ore production at the Channar and Eastern Ranges mines on top of Tom Price and two other Pilbara mines she already receives income from.
Perth-based Rinehart’s true wealth is hard to guage as the vast majority of it is tied up in a private firm Hancock Prospecting which controls her empire, but the latest estimates put it at $18 billion and counting.
Rinehart’s coal and iron ore wealth is also the subject of a bitter family feud. Three of her four children are currently suing her over control of the family trust.
Read more on Rinehart latest legal maneuvre to make sure her kids don’t see a dime >>
Big G, as she is sometimes referred to in the media, ranks number 4 on the MINING.com 2012 list of mining billionaires.
Click here for the full list >> and here for a Rinehart profile >>
