Hancock loses appeal over iron ore project

30 Oct 2012, 4:41 pm   -   Source: AAP

Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting has failed in its appeal against a court order that forced it to hand over its stake in a major WA iron-ore project.

An appeal by Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting over the big Rhodes Ridge iron-ore project in Western Australia has been dismissed but the company has indicated it will contest certain court orders.

A 2010 court order forced Hancock to relinquish its 25 per cent per cent stake in the project, increasing Wright Prospecting's interest to 50 per cent and honouring an agreement between Ms Rinehart's father Lang Hancock and his business partner Peter Wright in 1984 that involved the carve-up of their various mining assets.

Mr Wright died in 1985 and Mr Hancock died seven years later.

On Tuesday, Hancock Prospecting's appeal was dismissed by the WA Court of Appeal.

In the judgment, Justice Carmel McLure reflected on Mr Hancock's fears that there would be stoushes between the men's descendants.

"The genesis of this dispute is an agreement entered into when the men were in the 70s and Mr Hancock was concerned that the hitherto harmonious and cooperative relationship between the partners would not survive the changing of the guard to the next generation who would take control of the corporate vehicles," Justice McLure said.

"As this litigation demonstrates, Mr Hancock's concern was soundly based."

Hancock Prospecting had claimed the 1984 agreement was superseded by a 1989 agreement, but that was rejected.

"The intention and purpose of the 1984 agreement is unambiguously clear," Justice McLure said.

A Wright Prospecting spokesman said the company welcomed the ruling.

"Throughout this matter and the previous matter in the Supreme Court, Wright Prospecting's focus has been to enforce and protect its rights to 50 per cent of the Rhodes Ridge joint venture," he said.

Hancock's legal team indicated that the company would oppose three orders in Tuesday's judgment that it needed to take instruction on and would be the subject of submissions explaining why it did not believe the orders were appropriate.

Justice McLure gave the Hancock team until November 13 to lodge the submissions while Wright had until November 20 to respond.

Rio Tinto owns the other half of the Rhodes Ridge project, situated east of the mining giant's West Angelas operations and south of its Hope Downs joint venture with Hancock.

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