Lithium suppliers seek to rein in price discounts in 2025 talks
The past year has been torrid for lithium, as a global slowdown in the pace of EV adoption left the market saddled with a glut.
Two of the world’s richest women are seeking another $136 million by suing Rio Tinto. According to a story in The Daily Telegraph, Gina Reinhart and Angela Bennett, who are heirs to the Hancock and Wright iron ore fortunes, are suing mining giant Rio Tinto over the rights to iron ore beneath as much as 150 square kilometres of the Pilbara iron ore region of Western Australia:
The lawsuit in the NSW Supreme Court is seeking an estimated $136 million in past royalties dating back two decades.
If successful, the legal bid could also reap the descendants of Hancock and Wright a further $25 million each year in royalties, even assuming the iron ore price halves by 2016.
The dispute centres around a royalty agreement, struck in 1970, related to royalties from land which was later developed into two Pilbara mines – Channar and Eastern Range. Read the full story
Reinhart made headlines in May for reaching the top of Australia’s billionaires club, MINING.com reported. The “Iron Ore Queen” whose fortuneis worth an estimated $10.3 billion, is the first woman to top BRW’s Rich 200 list.
