Visit Official Site - HANCOCK PROSPECTING GROUP (HPPL) : Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, UK, Norway, Sweden

HANCOCK PROSPECTING GROUP (HPPL) - Visit Official Site: Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, UK, Norway, Sweden
Visit Official Site - HANCOCK PROSPECTING GROUP (HPPL) : Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, UK, Norway, Sweden

HANCOCK PROSPECTING (HPPL) SUMMARY

Gina Rinehart became Executive Chairman of Hancock Prospecting Group (HPPL) in 1992. Her prime focus at HPPL was the establishment of four iron ore mines at Hope Downs. Hope North (commenced operations in 2007), Hope South (in 2008) and Hope 4 mine (in 2013). Baby Hope Mine was opened in October 2018. (Rio Tinto Iron Ore is a 50% joint partner at Hope Downs). Soon after Rinehart became Chair of HPPL, she applied for iron ore tenements at Roy Hill in Western Australia (after BHP let it go).

In January 2012 HPPL formed a strategic partnership with South Korean steelmaker POSCO (15% stake) in the Roy Hill project. This was followed in April 2012 when Marubeni Corporation purchased a 12.5% stake and STX Corporation a 2.5% stake. The first shipments of ore left Roy Hill in December 2015. HPPL also had plans for Alpha and Alpha West coal tenements in Queensland. Rinehart initially increased HPPL’s holding in Kevin’s Corner (coal tenement) in Queensland. A shipment of coal, the first from the Galilee Basin was exported in June 2011 and a joint partner found, GVK of India who purchased a 79% majority stake in Alpha and Alpha West and 100% ownership of Kevin’s Corner for $1.2 billion. In 2007 HPPL managed the Jacaranda Joint Venture Alliance, which holds tenements across Australia in uranium, lead, zinc, gold, diamonds, molybdenum and petroleum). By 2012 HPPL increased its interests in further coal tenements in Queensland.

HPPL is 76.6% owned by Gina Rinehart with the remaining 23.4% owned by the Hope Margaret Trust. The Hope Margaret Trust was established by Lang Hancock in 1988. It has been mired in a series of legal disputes between members of the Rinehart family. HPPL owns iron ore leases across the Central Pilbara covering 500 square kilometres (850 million tonnes) and the Eastern Pilbara (2 billion tonnes), as well as a mysterious Manganese “mine” called Nicholas Downs which is a joint venture with Mineral Resources Limited. The company also receives a 1.25% royalty from iron ore from Rio Tinto subsidiary Hamersely Iron, in a deal set up by Lang Hancock in the early 1960’s. Since 2014 Hancock has begun diversifying into the cattle industry and in 2016 acquired 67% of the famous Australian pastoral company, S.Kidman and Co.Hancock Prospecting has also donated significant funds (between 30-50% of its entire revenue stream in 2016/17) to conservative think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), where Gina Rinehart was made a life member in November 2016. Gina Rinehart also became a shareholder and board member of Channel 10 in 2010, until 2014 and was also a shareholder and board member of Fairfax media company between 2012 and 2015