Hancock Prospecting's Iron Ore Royalty Battle

0:00Hearings kicked off in Perth over legal costs from Gina Reinhardt's big hope-downs court loss. Last week, a judge ruled her company, Hancock Prospecting, owes hundreds of millions in iron ore royalties to ride prospecting and DFD roads. Partners of her laydead, they scored shares from some hope-down sites developed with Rio Tinto, but their bigger ownership claims got shot down. This stems from deals laying Hancock strut back in the 1930s with Peter Wright and Don Roads, kickstarting Western Australia's iron ore. Boom! Hancock Prospecting argued the royalties top out at just 18 million bucks a year, 14 million to write and 4 million to roads, but the other side says it's way more, and they're fighting the math. Lawyers clashed today on getting full financial breakdowns from Hancock, including or sales figures and how royalties were tallied. They pushed for 6% interest on unpaid sums, plus damages for old contract breaches and costs from forced accounting work.

1:01Justice Jennifer Smith heard it all and plans orders next week spelling out Hancock's exact liabilities. After 15 years of battles, 53 hearing days, and over 1600 pages of rulings, no one's tipped their hand on appeals yet. The fight rolls on, with millions hanging in the balance for these iron ore giants. Today informed with Adelaide News Today, AI-powered updates, I'm Corey with The Story.