Daughter of the late Lang Hancock, Rinehart’s wealth has risen this year to $A4.75 billion from $3.47 billion last year.
As well as receiving significant annual royalties from iron ore production in the Pilbara, Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, plans to develop the Hope Downs 4 iron ore mine in the Pilbara and a massive coal project in Queensland’s Galilee Basin.
Overall, Rinehart was second behind Westfield’s Frank Lowy, who has amassed a fortune of just over $5 billion.
In fourth spot overall, behind Visy’s Anthony Pratt, is Forrest, who saw his fortune jump by $1.86 billion to $4.24 billion.
According to BRW, Forrest would have been in the top spot if it wasn’t for the announcement of the proposed super tax, which saw FMG shares plummet due to the uncertainty surrounding the company’s aggressive Pilbara expansion plans.
Queensland’s Clive Palmer was the third-richest miner with a fortune of $3.92 billion.
Q Coal’s Chris Wallin made a splash in this year’s list with his fortune growing by $1.99 billion and propelling him into the top 10 and making him the fourth-richest miner.
The large increase in Wallin’s fortune to $2.59 billion is attributed to a $500 million deal signed with Japan’s JFE Steel Corp late last year.
Reclusive iron ore heirs Michael Wright and Angela Bennett came in fifth and 14th overall with a fortune of $2.09 billion.
Macarthur Coal founder Ken Talbot saw his wealth grow by $215 million to $965 million, while Aquila Resources founder Tony Poli’s fortune jumped by half a billion dollars to $787 million.
Another Aquila director, Charles Bass, is a new entry to the list with an estimated worth of $375 million.
Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison and recent purchaser of Australia’s most expensive house at $70 million, has a fortune of $340 million.
Felix Resources former chief executive Brian Flannery and former chairman Travers Duncan saw their wealth jump when the company was taken over by Yanzhou Coal last year.
Flannery is worth $588 million, while Duncan has a fortune of $585 million.
Whitehaven Coal’s Tony Haggarty is worth $453 million, while fellow board member Andy Plummer is a new entry with a fortune of $255 million.
The men’s former colleague at Excel Coal, Chris Ellis, made the list with $235 million.
Jubilee Mines founder and Talisman Mining board member Kerry Harmanis is on the list with a fortune of $534 million, as is prospector Mark Creasy, worth $283 million.
Joseph Gutnick returned to the list with a fortune of $300 million after buying up stakes in a number of mining companies during the global financial crisis.
A notable debut on the list is the father-son team behind Centamin Egypt, Josef and Sami El-Raghy, who saw their fortune rise to $185 million after their massive Sukari gold mine produced its first gold.
A number of mining services companies are also creating wealth for their founders and bosses.
WorleyParsons’ John Grill, Russell Staley and Peter Meurs made the list with fortunes of $971 million, $231 million and $260 million respectively.
Meurs has recently left the company to join FMG.
Founder of mining accommodation supplier the MAC Services Group, Kevin Maloney, re-entered the list with a fortune of $270 million.
