The first day of what could potentially be a months-long legal clash between titans of Western Australia’s mining industry is playing out in a Perth Court.
Opening statements were heard on Monday in the matter of Gina Rinehart’s Lang Prospecting as the company fends off lucrative royalty claims from the former business partners of her famous father’s company, most notably Wright Prospecting,
The company, along with smaller WA mining outfits and the children of Ms Rinehart, are seeking a share of Hope Downs mining operations, which covers a number of iron ore tenements in WA’s Pilbara region.
A sea of legal representatives packed out a courtroom in the WA Supreme Court on Monday for the first day of the proceedings, held in Perth’s David Malcolm Justice Centre to accommodate the sheer number of lawyers, media, and interested parties present.
Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Smith is overseeing the hearing, which is expected to run into November at the earliest.
Ms Rinehart, 69, was not present in the courtroom on Monday, nor were her children John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart.
The Rinehart children have been dragged into the matter due to their own protracted legal battles with their mother over their share of Hancock Prospecting profits.
Ms Rinehart on Wednesday lost a bid to have thousands of pages of documentation relating to her conduct made confidential, which would have seen large parts of the civil case held behind closed doors.
However, the Supreme Court knocked back her application.
The other major player in the proceedings is fellow businesswoman Angela Bennett, the daughter of Wright Prospecting co-founder Peter Wright, who argues agreements made between her later father and Lang Hancock entitle her to a share of Hancock royalties.
Like Ms Rinehart, Ms Bennett, aged in her late 70s, was not in court on Monday.
Ms Rinehart has been in a lengthy legal stoush with her children over the control of the family trust, which she was granted in 2015.
It followed the death of her father and Hancock Prospecting founder Lang Hancock in 1992, which sparked yet another legal battle with Mr Hancock’s third wife Rose Porteous.
Ms Rinehart’s net worth sits at a staggering $36bn, making Ms Rinehart the richest woman in Australia.
She is executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting, which runs the flagship Roy Hill Iron Ore Mine.
Projects at Hope Downs, near Newman, pull about 45m tonnes of iron ore from the ground each year.