Bloomberg

Gina Rinehart giving her address on "Australia: Business Hub for the Next Century" at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Perth. she is Chair, Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd. 26th October, 2011. Photograph Ron D'Raine/ Bloomberg

James Regan Sydney

Australian Gina Rinehart could soon become the world’s wealthiest woman after amassing $18 billion (R140bn) from mining and media investments, Forbes magazine said in its latest list of the wealthiest people in Australia.

The 57-year-old widow saw her fortune almost double after a deal signed last month that will result in South Korean steel giant Posco taking a 15 percent stake in her Roy Hill iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara iron belt.

The deal valued the project at $10bn. Rinehart also has plans to expand her iron ore operations and develop two coal collieries.

If commodity prices held up, Rinehart could challenge Christie Walton, worth $24.5bn, as the world’s richest lady, Forbes said.

Walton is the widow of John Walton, a son of Sam Walton, the founder of retail chain Walmart.

For now, Rinehart is the Asia-Pacific area’s wealthiest woman.

Rinehart is the daughter of Lang Hancock, a prospector who discovered huge deposits of iron ore in the 1950s that now make up Australia’s largest export base.

China alone relies on Australian iron ore for nearly half its imports of the steel-making ingredient, and Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are also big buyers.

Compared with ultrarich Bill Gates of Microsoft and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, the source of most of Rinehart’s wealth is downright low-tech.

Iron ore is extracted from giant pits found in the 500 000km2 Pilbara, the world’s single largest source of iron ore. Ore is churned up by bulldozers and carted in trucks to open-topped rail cars.

Known as the Pilbara Princess, Rinehart is now building stakes in Australia’s top media groups, drawing comparisons to Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation. Rinehart this week became the largest shareholder in Fairfax Media by tripling her stake in the firm. She already owns 10 percent of rival Ten Network.

Her media move is raising concerns among politicians, namely the left-leaning Labor party of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, whose views on who should control mining differ from Rinehart’s.

“It has always been the case in Australia over my lifetime in politics that a (few) families have had a controlling interest in the majority of the media in this country,” Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said.

“All that’s really changing is that a different wealthy individual is taking a strategic or ownership position in some media.

“Clearly she is seeking to exert her influence.”

Opposition Liberal Party treasurer Joe Hockey, more in line with Rinehart’s conservative views, has called her simply “a good person, a good Australian”.

Rinehart recently joined fellow Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest to protest against the government’s introduction of a special mining tax.

On the environment, Rinehart is also at opposites with Gillard, who introduced a carbon tax.

Rinehart is outspoken on Australia’s immigration laws, arguing mines should be allowed to bring in cheap labour. She has funded many social causes. – Reuters