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When Rio Tinto's board sits down in the next few months to considera major expansion of its Brockman 4 iron ore mine in the Pilbara,Perth property magnate Mr Stan Perron will have plenty riding onthe result. At the same time, his fellow West Australian billionaire Ms GinaRinehart newly crowned as the world's richest woman could be ruinga rare legal back down this week that will divert a big chunk ofthe iron ore royalties she reaps from Rio's Pilbara operationsstraight into the coffers of Mr Perron. If the Rio board approves the Brockman 4 expansion, Mr Perron andhis family will be major beneficiaries for decades to come as aresult of the legal settlement he reached with Ms Rinehart andfellow Perth heiress Angela Bennett just days before a hearing wasdue to start in the West Australian Supreme Court next week. The settlement is considered unusual because Ms Rinehart, whosepersonal wealth is estimated in today's BRW Rich List at AUD 29.2billion is not known for retreating from a fight and has draggedother disputes through the courts for many years. A Perth legal source said that "Gina doesn't settle, so she musthave seen the writing on the wall on this one." The end of the dispute means Mr Perron is now entitled to a biggershare of the royalties that Rio has long paid to his privatecompany, SP Investments, as well as to Ms Rinehart's HancockProspecting and Wright Prospecting, the company controlled by thereclusive Ms Bennett after the death of her brother, Mr MichaelWright. In effect, the settlement means Mr Perron, who will turn 90 inNovember 2012 and still works most days, is suddenly entitled to15% of the royalties that Rio pays from its Brockman 2 and Brockman4 mines. While details of the deal remain confidential, Ms Rinehartand Ms Bennett are likely to have to hand over up to AUD 40 millionin royalties they have already earned under the deal with Rio. Mr Perron will immediately start earning millions of dollars extraeach year based on the present output of almost 30 million tonnesfrom the Brockman 2 and Brockman 4 mines. But the settlement is also understood to entitle Mr Perron to ashare of all future royalties from Brockman 4, which could begenerating revenues of about AUD 6.5 billion a year after 2015,based on present iron ore price. Under this scenario, Rio would payMs Rinehart, Ms Bennett and Mr Perron about AUD 160 million a yearin royalties. Mr Perron would be entitled to 15% of those royalties or about AUD24 million a year. Rio's Brockman 4 mine, about 60 kilometers northwest of Tom Price,was opened in late 2010 but is well on the way to becoming themining giant's second biggest iron ore operation. Rio is now building phase 2 of the mine, which will increase annualcapacity to 40 million tonnes by the end of next year, a majorcomponent of the mining giant's plan to be producing 283 milliontonnes a year throughout the Pilbara. A Rio spokesman said that a further expansion of Brockman 4 to 50million tonnes a year was the subject of a final feasibility studyand the board was expected to consider the issue in the next fewmonths. This would form a major component of Rio's USD 20 billionplan to expand annual capacity to 353 million tonnes by the firsthalf of 2015. Perron Group managing director Mr Ross Robertson declined tocomment yesterday on the confidential settlement. Mr Perron owns ahalf-share of Perth's tallest office tower, Central Park, whichalso happens to be the home of Rio Tinto's operations in WA. Hemade his estimated USD 1.5 billion fortune through a lucrativeToyota distribution deal in WA and other astute investments. Last week, Mr Perron bought a 50% interest in shopping centers inPerth, Adelaide and Melbourne from Centro Retail Australia for AUD690 million. But it was his prescient decision in 1959 to bankrollthe Hancock Wright prospecting partnership with an investment ofjust pound sterling 500 that allowed Mr Perron to cash in on WA'siron ore boom of recent years. Source - The Australian. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Reading Glasses Manufacturer , Motorcycle Goggles Glasses Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Metal Frame Sunglasses today!
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