Gina Rinehart And Her Son Back Novel German Lithium Project

Gina Rinehart And Her Son Back Novel German Lithium Project

The lure of lithium, the metal dubbed white petroleum, has proved irresistible for Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest person and one of the world's richest women.

But her entry into one of the commodities being driven higher by strong demand for the batteries used to power electric vehicles (EVs) is far from conventional.

While there are plenty of opportunities closer to her home town of Perth on Australia's west coast, Rinehart has bought into a German lithium project that has already attracted her son, John Hancock.

The presence of mother and son on the share register of Australian listed Vulcan Energy is unusual as the two have had a difficult relationship thanks to a dispute over the terms of a family trust which became a factor in John changing his surname to that of his grandfather, the late Lang Hancock.

Rinehart's fortune, estimated by Forbes at $17.2 billion, is based on the mining of iron ore in Western Australia.

The size of her stake in Vulcan has not been revealed but her master company, Hancock Prospecting, is listed as a cornerstone investor in a $92 million ($A120 million) capital raising completed last week. John Hancock revealed his 5.23% holding in Vulcan last month.

"Zero Carbon Lithium“

The appeal