Australia’s wealthiest woman wins court battle with Rio Tinto

1470
Image credit: Wikimedia commons / Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website Author: Graham Crouch

Rio Tinto subsidiary Mount Bruce Mining (MBM) has been ordered to pay royalties to companies run by Australia’s wealthiest woman Gina Rinehart and the heirs of her late father’s former business partner from two iron ore mines in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia.

Image credit: Wikimedia commons / Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website Author: Graham Crouch
Image credit: Wikimedia commons / Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website
Author: Graham Crouch

Australia’s High Court ruled unanimously that Rio Tinto is liable to pay over $200 million in royalties and court fees after Ms Rinehart won the appeal.

Rio Tinto claimed that it was not liable to pay royalties on property bought in 1970 from Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd and Wright Prospecting Pty Ltd, even though it had agreed to pay 2.5% on iron ore sales from the two areas in question – Channar and Eastern Range.

Rio Tinto – the world’s second largest exporter of Iron ore – also defended itself by claiming that it was not liable for royalties as the mines were not constantly in its ownership for this time and that Eastern Range and Channar lay outside the area on which royalties were due.

Adertisement

The company did temporarily lose control of the tenements and later regained control to mine the rich iron ore region.

The High Court said that under the terms of the original Agreement inked in 1970, MBM was assured of an exclusive opportunity to exploit an area of land allocated to it irrespective of the nature or terms of the tenement authorised by the state.

Hancock and Wright were pioneer miners in the Pilbara region during the 50s and 60s of 20th century. By teaming up with Rio, they were granted access to a private railway to transport iron ore from Paraburdoo to Dampier.