Mining magnate Gina Rinehart and her two estranged children, John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart, have been ordered to pay the bulk of legal costs arising from a protracted trial concerning royalties from some of Australia's most lucrative iron ore mines, a Western Australian judge ruled.
Earlier in 2026, Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Smith found that Hancock Prospecting, Mrs. Rinehart's company, owed hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties to Wright Prospecting and DFD Rhodes, companies linked to her late father's business partners. Wright Prospecting, owned by descendants of Peter Wright, was awarded 40% of the legal costs incurred in pursuing its share of royalties. Hancock Prospecting must pay 30%, while John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart are responsible for 10% of the costs, according to Justice Smith.
The legal dispute, spanning over a decade and involving numerous lawyers, centered on entitlement to billions of dollars from the Hope Downs mines in Western Australia's Pilbara region, co-owned by Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto. Wright Prospecting and DFD Rhodes argued their right to a share based on their historical partnership with Lang Hancock, Mrs. Rinehart's late father.
Justice Smith also waived the usual cap on legal fees due to the "unusual difficulty, complexity and importance of the matters raised in both the Rhodes and WPPL proceedings." She noted that assessing the exact costs would require extensive review of invoices, which is not an appropriate use of a judge's time, indicating further proceedings will determine the precise liabilities.
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