Hancock Prospecting

Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd
Company typePrivate
IndustryMining and Agriculture
PredecessorHancock Prospecting Limited
Hancock Resources
Hanwright Pty Limited
Hancock & Wright Limited
Founded25 November 1955 (1955-11-25)
FounderLang Hancock
Headquarters,
Number of locations
Multiple projects in Australia and in the UK
Key people
Gina Rinehart
(Executive Chairwoman)
ProductsIron ore and thermal coal; and
Joint venture activities in ferruginous manganese, uranium, molybdenum, lead, zinc, gold, diamonds, and petroleum
Revenue$16.6 billion (2021)[1]
$7.3 billion (2021)[2]
OwnerGina Rinehart
Hope Margaret Hancock Trust[3]
SubsidiariesHancock Coal Pty Limited
Hancock Alpha West Pty Limited
Websitewww.hancockprospecting.com.au

Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd is an Australian-owned mining and agricultural business run by Executive Chairwoman Gina Rinehart and CEO Garry Korte. At various stages of its trading history, the company has been known as Hancock Prospecting Ltd, Hancock Resources Ltd, Hanwright Pty Ltd, Hancock & Wright Ltd, and Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd.

Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd is owned by Rinehart (76.6%) and the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust (23.4%).[3]

The company was founded in 1955 by Rinehart's father, the late Lang Hancock. Hancock Prospecting holds the mineral rights to some of the largest Crown land leases in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Gina Rinehart has disputed accusations that she is an heiress. Through Rinehart's spokesperson and chief financial officer at Hancock Prospecting, Jay Newby, Rinehart has claimed that upon assuming the role of the Executive Chairwoman, she took over a company that was in a perilous financial position with significant debt and major assets mortgages and under threat of seizure.[4]

  1. ^ "Hancock Prospecting returns $5.8b profit for Rinehart". 30 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Gina Rinehart miner nets massive $7.3b profit off bumper year for iron". 26 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b Hannah Low (13 May 2014). "'Think very carefully': Gina Rinehart's daughter Hope Welker warned by lawyer". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  4. ^ Waters, Cara (9 March 2015). "I'm no heiress: Gina Rinehart complains about SmartCompany's top female entrepreneurs list". SmartCompany. Private Media Pty Ltd. Retrieved 19 May 2021.