Mining pioneer Peter Wright did his share of heavy lifting when he and Pilbara icon Lang Hancock set about building what would become a multibillion-dollar iron ore empire, a court heard on Monday. So Wright’s descendants should share equally in the royalty payments that still flow from their partnership, their lawyer said.

In opening remarks in a case that pits two legendary names in the West Australian iron ore industry’s against one another, John Rowland KC told the Supreme Court the matter rests on the “relatively simple” proposition that the partnership the two men forged in the 1950s – based on “loyalty, trust, confidence and good faith” – has endured to this day.