Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has made nine disclosed mining and metals investments in roughly a year, building exposure to rare earths, copper, gallium, antimony and precious metals as the iron ore billionaire broadens her resources empire.

The latest is an A$8.77-million investment ($6.2 million) in White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN), which will give Hancock a 13.5% stake in the Australian explorer and exposure to its Rae copper project in Nunavut, Canada. Hancock agreed to subscribe for about 515.8 million shares at A$0.017 each, subject to shareholder approval.

The deal extends a run of investments that has pushed Hancock well beyond the commodity that made Rinehart Australia’s richest person and the world’s wealthiest woman. The portfolio increasingly spans minerals considered strategically important to Western supply chains, including rare earths and metals used in defence and advanced manufacturing.

Rare earths

One of Hancock’s biggest recent expansion beyond iron ore came in October 2025, when it agreed to invest A$125 million in Arafura Rare Earths (ASX: ARU) as part of a A$475-million placement, lifting its interest to about 15.7%. Arafura is developing the Nolans rare earths project in Australia’s Northern Territory.

That same month, Hancock backed St George Mining (ASX: SGQ), which is developing the Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Brazil. Hancock ultimately invested A$22.5 million and emerged with a 6.24% interest in St George.

The expansion crossed into the US this spring. A May filing showed Hancock held 1.25 million shares, or 6.26%, of newly listed Rare Earths Americas (NYSE: REA), an investment worth about $22.8 million when acquired. The company is developing rare earths projects in the US and Brazil.

The purchases add to Hancock’s established holdings in major rare earths companies including MP Materials (NYSE: MP) and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC), giving Rinehart exposure across several parts of the emerging ex-China supply chain.

Hancock has also been reshaping its broader US portfolio. A May regulatory filing showed it added defence contractors including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and RTX as part of a $133-million shift into defence and gold stocks. 

The company has also increased its position in copper producer Hudbay Minerals (TSX: HBM; NYSE: HBM) by about 10% while exiting its holding in Chilean lithium producer SQM (NYSE: SQM).

The SQM exit is notable because Hancock and SQM partners in the Andover lithium project in Western Australia. The portfolio changes therefore point less to a wholesale retreat from battery minerals than to a rebalancing toward a wider collection of strategic commodities.

Strategic metals

Hancock added another piece in July by committing A$7.95 million to G50 Corp. (ASX: G50), giving it about 5.4% of the explorer after a A$26.25-million placement.

G50 is advancing the Golconda project in Arizona and White Caps in Nevada. The placement will fund drilling and geological work as well as gallium metallurgical testing at Golconda, adding another critical mineral to Hancock’s expanding portfolio.

Hancock also took a stake in Elon Musk’s SpaceX in June, acquiring 8 million shares valued at about $1.37 billion, according to a US regulatory filing by the investment firm. The purchase was Rinehart’s largest disclosed investment outside iron ore and her biggest US-traded position, extending the strategy beyond mineral producers to a company that could become a major consumer of critical minerals and developer of off-Earth infrastructure.

White Cliff pushes the diversification strategy further into copper. Hancock’s investment will help accelerate drilling at Rae, where the explorer is working to expand the Danvers discoveries and test regional targets across the Nunavut property. The transaction requires shareholder approval, with White Cliff planning a meeting for Oct. 19.

Taken together, the transactions show Hancock deploying capital across a wider set of commodities and jurisdictions rather than relying primarily on its enormous Australian iron ore business. 

For an empire built on iron ore, the emerging portfolio offers a map of where Rinehart is putting money as competition for strategic mineral supply intensifies.