Australia Court rules Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting must pay royalties to Wright Prospecting family

The Western Australian Supreme Court has ruled that Wright Prospecting is entitled to 50% of past and future royalties from the Hope Downs iron ore project.

The decision was handed down on April 15, 2026, concluding a decade-long legal dispute.

Justice Jennifer Smith found that Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto, joint operators of the Hope Downs mines, are jointly liable for royalty payments to Wright Prospecting.

However, the court dismissed claims by Gina Rinehart's children and Wright descendants to ownership shares in the mines.

The ruling means Wright Prospecting will receive potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties from the lucrative Pilbara mining assets.

Hancock Prospecting remains the 50% owner of Hope Downs but must share royalties equally with Wright Prospecting.

This judgment is significant as it affects the financial interests of Australia's wealthiest person, Gina Rinehart, and resolves a long-standing dispute over mining royalties in a key iron ore region.

The legal battle began over 15 years ago when Wright Prospecting sought to claim a share of royalties from Hope Downs, a joint venture between Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto near Newman in north-west Western Australia.

The mines generated substantial profits, with Hancock Prospecting reporting $832 million in profit in 2025.

Justice Smith described the outcome as a "half loss half win" for Wright Prospecting, upholding their contractual claim to royalties but rejecting ownership claims over other mining assets.

Wright Prospecting welcomed the ruling, noting the complexity and length of the proceedings, which included a trial in Perth in mid-2023 and a judgment exceeding 1,600 pages.

Hancock Prospecting issued a statement acknowledging the court's rejection of ownership claims by Rinehart's children and Wright Prospecting but did not comment on the royalty payments.

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