Billionaire Gina Rinehart appoints Roy Hill boss Barry Fitzgerald to role at Hancock Prospecting
Billionaire Gina Rinehart has made a key appointment to Hancock Prospecting as her mining and pastoral group looks to develop new projects.
Gina Rinehart has rung in the changes at her flagship Roy Hill iron ore mine, with longstanding boss Barry Fitzgerald stepping across to a role in developing Hancock Prospecting’s other major assets, to be replaced by former Fortescue executive Gerhard Veldsman.
With output of 60 million tonnes a year or iron ore, and approvals to push shipments to 70 million tonnes, Roy Hill is Australia’s fourth-biggest iron ore miner and Mrs Rinehart’s biggest and most profitable mining operation.
Mr Fitzgerald joined Roy Hill in 2010 and led construction and commissioning of the giant iron ore mine, with the surge in iron ore prices over the past two years helping the company pay off its $10bn debt in record time and declare a $475m dividend to shareholders — including Hancock and minority shareholders Marubeni, which holds a 15 per cent stake, Posco (12.5 per cent) and China Steel Corporation (2.5 per cent).
In a statement, Mrs Rinehart said the Roy Hill boss would represent Hancock on the board of the company, and the board of its Hope Downs joint venture with Rio Tinto.
He will also take a group role at Hancock Prospecting, taking responsibility for “a range of major development projects” at the privately owned mining and pastoral major, she said.
Last year Hancock’s annual accounts suggested the company was closing on a development decision at its Mulga Downs iron ore project — where the company had planned a small 5 million-tonne-a-year operation in 2013 until the iron ore price crash forced a rethink — touting a drilling campaign that had added 290 million tonnes of additional resources at the project in the 2019 to 2020 financial year alone.
“We are very pleased to retain Barry’s extensive industry and company knowledge as he moves across to Hancock Prospecting, where he will represent the company on the Roy Hill and Hope Downs boards and also take responsibility for a range of major development projects using his considerable experience in the iron ore industry to drive growth and future value for the group,” Mrs Rinehart said.
Roy Hill chief operating officer Mr Veldsman will take the reins at Roy Hill when the transition is complete at the end of June.
Mr Veldsman joined Roy Hill in late 2019 as its COO, after working for Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group for eight years, including a stint as Fortescue’s Pilbara operations manager.
News of the leadership change at Roy Hill comes amid a tumbling iron ore price, with spot prices for the steel making commodity down 5.7 per cent to $US161.41 on Tuesday, according to Fastmarkets data.
The price falls come after Chinese authorities ordered a temporary halt to work at steel mills in industrial hubs in Hebei province after pollution levels hit allowable limits. The temporary production cuts come on top of repeated signals from government officials that steel output could fall this year.
Shares in Australian iron ore miners tumbled on Wednesday, with BHP down 2.8 per cent, or $1.39, at $47.60; Fortescue falling $1.85, or 8.3 per cent, to $20.33 and Rio Tinto off $6.72 or 5.5 per cent, at $114.49.
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