Bombshell letter from Lang shows Gina Rinehart knew she should share, court told

A 37-year-old letter from her father was “significant evidence” Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart knew a Pilbara iron ore site that has netted her company billions of dollars was meant to be shared with the family of another mining dynasty, a West Australian court has heard.

The letter, written to Rinehart by her late father Lang Hancock in 1986 shortly after his business partner Peter Wright died, was tendered in the WA Supreme Court on Tuesday during a civil trial spearheaded by Wright’s descendants in a bid to retrieve billions in royalties they claim they are rightfully owed.

Gina Rinehart with her father Lang Hancock. Credit: Susan Debra Windmiller

The battle comes nearly 50 years after former school friends Lang and Wright began laying claim to some of the country’s most resource-rich tenements, inking royalty agreements that would elevate their future generations to the top of the country’s rich-list.

Wright Prospecting’s lawyer Julie Taylor dubbed Lang’s letter to Gina – unearthed by her eldest children Bianca Rinehart and John Hancock’s discovery process – as “significant evidence”.

In it, Lang outlined the division of assets and stipulated his company Hancock Prospecting was to retain East Angelas – now known as Hope Downs 4, 5, and 6 – jointly for the “Hanwright” partnership.

“Lang and Mrs Rinehart knew and understood that those areas were held jointly for the partnership,” Taylor told the court.

Gina Rinehart.Credit: Matt King/Getty Images

“[Hancock Prospecting] was only entitled, at most, to a half-interest in them.

“This is important to demonstrate Lang’s understanding of the partnership and, most importantly, that Mrs Rinehart has known since 1986 that the assets are held jointly by the partnership.”

The bombshell submission came after several hours of submissions on day two of the long-awaited trial, which saw Rinehart pitted against the billionaire heirs to Wright’s empire, including his daughter Angela Bennett and his son Michael Wright’s children, Leonie Baldock and Alexandra Burt.

Wright’s descendants aren’t Rinehart’s only legal opponents, with the estate of forgotten pioneer Don Rhodes and Rinehart’s own children also claiming a stake in Lang’s most lucrative legacy.

The trial, expected to run for several months, centres around Wright Prospecting’s claim it was supposed to share equally in the spoils of any assets developed from Hancock and Wright’s 50-year alliance.

Wright argues it is entitled to a half-share of the royalties streaming out of the sprawling Hope Downs iron ore tenement Hancock Prospecting co-owns with operator Rio Tinto, including Hope Downs 1, 2 and 3 and East Angelas, now home to four operational mines deemed the country’s most successful.

It claims Wright Prospecting never relinquished its partnership interest in the assets, but has been denied its rightful share.

In doing so, Wright alleges Hancock Prospecting has breached its duties to the partnership under agreements inked between 1978 and 1987.

Hancock Prospecting and its executive chair Gina Rinehart maintain the Hope Downs assets and their spoils belong to them, insisting they put in the work to claw them back and invest in their development after they were confiscated by the state government.

They have not had an opportunity to respond to Tuesday’s submissions.

There are more than 30 lawyers filling the courtroom, which has been specifically remodelled for the long-awaited legal showdown.

The trial continues.

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