Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has moved a step closer to developing a $5 billion magnetite project in Western Australia capitalising on support from the Indian government.

However, based on work done so far, there is no guarantee the 51 per cent-Hancock-owned Mt Bevan project will move forward, the iron ore giant says, citing the Albanese government’s policies and bloated approval regimes as posing threats to its success.