<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Judgment day has arrived in a bitter multibillion-dollar legal stoush that forced Australia's richest person, </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/gina-rinehart" rel="" target="_blank" title="Gina Rinehart"><span>Gina Rinehart</span></a><span>, to defend her iron ore empire.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The complex battle pitted Rinehart's company, Hancock Prospecting, against the heirs of mining pioneer Peter Wright and engineer Don Rhodes, amid allegations of decades-old contract breaches.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They were fighting over the spoils from the massive Rio Tinto-operated Hope Downs mining complex in Western Australia, with a judgment to be handed down today.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/earthquake-nsw-orange-and-surrounds-shaken-by-tremor/dfadaa6f-0410-4a57-afa2-674c273dc582" rel="" target="_blank" title="Magnitude 4.5 earthquake strikes near gold mine in regional NSW"><strong><span>Magnitude 4.5 earthquake strikes near gold mine in regional NSW</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Wright Prospecting demanded a share of unmined and mined Hope Downs tenements and royalties, amid a claim Hancock Prospecting breached a 1980s partnership agreement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>DFD Rhodes also claimed a royalty share of Hope Downs' production, over an alleged deal with Rinehart's father Lang Hancock and Wright that handed over tenements in the 1960s.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The bruising encounter involved Rinehart's eldest children, John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart, over a claim their grandfather left them a hefty share in the Pilbara mining resources he discovered in the 1950s.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/hancock-mining-riches-court-case-judgement-day/74b1a1a9-cbdd-484d-a8cf-674969785ed5" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mining giant Rio Tinto, as the joint venture partner in Hope Downs, was also a party in the Supreme Court battle and could be on the hook financially depending on which way the judgment swings.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 51-day trial featured sensational allegations against Rinehart - which have been vehemently denied - including that she devised an unlawful scheme to defraud her children.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-wall-street-journal-lawsuit-dismissed-florida-judge-jeffrey-epstein-letter-usa-news/89dbfad3-ffe3-49ac-9463-0067409cca42"><strong><span>Trump learns fate of $14b lawsuit over Epstein letter</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>About two dozen of the "smartest legal minds" in the country, costing an estimated $250,000 a day, packed a Perth courtroom for hearing that ended in December 2023.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the time, Justice Jennifer Smith said the case would "turn upon an assessment of the large volume of historical documents".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rinehart inherited her father's iron ore discovery in the Pilbara region and forged a mining empire after he died in 1992.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She developed mines from tenements at Hope Downs, signing a deal in 2005 with Rio Tinto, which has a 50 per cent stake in the project.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Hope Downs mining complex near Newman is one of Australia's largest and most successful iron ore projects, with multiple open-pit mines.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rinehart's wealth is estimated to be about $40 billion and she is the executive chair of Hancock Prospecting.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>