The Wright family heirs claim they are entitled to an equal share of the 2.5% royalties from the Hope Downs mining complex to Hancock Prospecting. Hancock Prospecting rejects the claim for both past and future royalties, arguing it undertook all the work, bore the financial risk, and is the legitimate owner of the Hope Downs assets. Wright Prospecting demanded a share of unmined and mined Hope Downs tenements and royalties, claiming Hancock Prospecting breached a 1980s partnership agreement.
Additional claims come from the family business of late prospector Don Rhodes, which asserts it is entitled to a 1.25% share of the contested royalty stream. DFD Rhodes claimed a royalty share of Hope Downs' production over an alleged deal with Lang Hancock and Peter Wright in the 1960s. Two of Gina Rinehart's children, John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart, have accused their mother of an 'egregious fraud' against them in proceedings. The children claim their mother transferred assets out of a trust following Lang Hancock's death in 1992, stripping them of valuable tenements they argue they should have had the right to develop. John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart claim their grandfather left them a hefty share in the Pilbara mining resources he discovered in the 1950s.
The case will 'turn upon an assessment of the large volume of historical documents'.
Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting have rejected all claims, with Rinehart's lawyers saying her actions were done to right an historic wrong by her father. Mining giant Rio Tinto is a joint venture partner in Hope Downs and was a party in the Supreme Court battle. The 51-day trial featured sensational allegations against Gina Rinehart, which have been vehemently denied. Justice Jennifer Smith said the case would 'turn upon an assessment of the large volume of historical documents'. Gina Rinehart's wealth is estimated to be about $40 billion.