Gina Rinehart plans to build a new iron ore mine near Mulga Downs homestead
Australia’s richest woman plans to extend her iron ore empire with a new development just a few kilometres from her homestead.
Gina Rinehart is set to add a new Pilbara iron ore mine to the portfolio of Hancock Prospecting, the first stand-alone iron ore operation to be built solely by the family mining company.
Documents released by the WA Environmental Protection Authority on Monday say Australia’s richest woman expects to have a new 20 million tonne a year iron ore mine in the market by 2025, with work on a smaller mine to begin “imminently”.
The operation sits on Mrs Rinehart’s Mulga Downs pastoral property, with the closest mining pit only a few kilometres from the station’s homestead.
The EPA documents show Hancock Prospecting plans to start building a new mine on the pastoral station by the middle of 2023, linking the mine to the rail and port network built by Mrs Rinehart’s 70 per cent owned Roy Hill project.
Mulga Downs, if approved, would likely be the first mine built and operated by Hancock Prospecting without an equity partner – the culmination of a long-held dream of the family mining company.
Hancock also controls half of the Rio Tinto-operated Hope Downs mines, and owns Roy Hill with equity partners Marubeni Corporation (15 per cent), Korea’s POSCO (12.5 per cent), and China Steel Corporation (2.5 per cent).
It is understood that feasibility studies are still ongoing, however, and Hancock could still decide to bring in equity partners to the mine – or even hand it over to Roy Hill to operate.
But Mrs Rinehart could add tonnes to the iron ore market ahead of 2025, with work on the smaller 5 million tonne a year Murray’s Hill mine set to begin “imminently”, the documents say.
Hancock Prospecting first sought approval for Murray’s Hill in 2013, planning a small mine to add to Roy Hill’s output. But the tumbling iron ore price put paid to the idea and further work was set aside in 2015.
The family mining company returned to Mulga Downs in 2018, however, and documents released by the company show it has rapidly drilled out a substantial reserve on the Mulga Downs pastoral leases – more than a billion tonnes of iron ore, according to Hancock’s last annual report – enough to sustain a 30 year mine life on the property.
EPA documents filed by the company say Murray’s Hill is now close to fully permitted, having cleared its major environmental hurdles when first proposed.
“With the provision of a native vegetation clearing permit and mining proposal under the Mining Act, Hancock Prospecting is seeking to commence development of Murray’s Hill imminently,” the company said.
It is understood the company is still conducting feasibility studies across the suite of Mulga Downs options, however, and is still negotiating agreements with Banjima and Yindjibarndi traditional owner groups, suggesting it may still be some time before construction work begins.
Mulga Downs is the latest step in Mrs Rinehart’s push to expand her iron ore empire.
Just before Christmas Hancock inked a deal to bring the long-dormant Australian Premium Iron Project back to life, joining forces with China’s Baowu, Korea’s POSCO and US company AMCI to restart the project and conduct a bankable feasibility study with a view to operating mines and port and rail infrastructure in the West Pilbara through Roy Hill.
Roy Hill booked a profit of $4.4bn last financial year, as the iron ore price surged, paying a $4.1bn dividend to its owners for the full year, plus another $1.5bn in October.
Hancock Prospecting booked a $7.3bn profit last financial year, on the back of the dividend from Roy Hill and its share of the Hope Downs mines.