Today, Gina Rinehart, Hancock Prospecting and Hancock Agriculture, honour the birthday of our companies founder, and his contribution to the Pilbara, to West Australia and Australia, Langley George Hancock. The West Australian pastoralist, who for his pioneering discoveries became known as the “flying prospector”, the prospector who not only made massive iron ore discoveries, but whose Persistence and determination unlocked the Pilbara and enabled Australia’s most valuable iron ore industry.
Together with his wife, Hope Hancock, Lang founded Hancock Prospecting in 1955. Under the leadership of their daughter Gina Rinehart AO, Hancock Prospecting has grown immensely into Australia’s most successful ever private company, and their pastoralist interests have spread across Australia, including now producing some of the world’s finest beef, 2GR Wagyu.
Born on 10 June 1909 and raised on Mulga Downs Station near the Hamersley Range, now called the Hancock Ranges, Lang developed a deep understanding of the Pilbara and its potential. At a time when the region was remote, underdeveloped and overlooked, he saw opportunity where others saw only distance and difficulty.
Lang’s first famous iron ore discovery came on 22 November 1952 , when he and his wife Hope were flying in their little Auster through the Turner River Gorge forced to fly low given the build up of clouds. With some rain having wet the gorge walls, the red colour of the gorge walls stood out. Lang thought these may be walls of iron ore, so after the cyclone season, he returned several times, landing in the spinifex and taking samples along 50 miles. He was somewhat surprised when the analysis came back, that this iron ore was 2 percent higher than the then standard ore feed to blast furnaces in the USA! Lang Hancock had recognised what others had missed, he had made a world class iron ore discovery. Although some fact changers now try to dispute this, even saying the government knew of this from some of their staff visiting the region, the fact remains, that the government had imposed an iron ore export embargo, upon the government view that Australia would be importing iron ore by 1965.
Lang Hancock had identified one of the largest iron ore regions in the world. The flying prospector took to the air successfully using his succession of light aircraft for mineral exploration in north-west Australia, landing on gravel roads, or at times, no roads at all.
But Lang’s achievement was not only his major discoveries. At the time, Australia’s iron ore industry was locked away. The national iron ore export embargo had been in place since 1938, based on the error of the governments “crystal ball” it’s mistaken belief that Australia would be running out of iron ore.
Lang Hancock refused to accept that Australia’s future should be held back and was driven to bring better infrastructure and opportunities to his beloved Pilbara. For almost a decade, he lobbied the far away Canberra government to lift their export embargo.
He then had another battle on his hands, the far away in Perth, state government under then Brand and Court, initially refused, and delayed lifting the states ban on pegging title to areas, preventing and delaying the ability to start the major iron ore industry in the Pilbara.
Fact changes went into spin again, giving the credit to the iron ore industry development to the then state government leaders!
Lang Hancock spent years of his life, promoting the Pilbara’s deposits to governments, steelmakers and the media. His persistence included trying to interest around 30 steel companies to invest in this rugged, sparsely occupied or developed region. This was not helped by the governments telling them, “there’s no ore there”, or” you can’t even peg the ground and get title to it, “not very encouraging when trying to interest companies to build a mine, towns, railway and a port! But after many knockbacks, ultimately West Australia’s flying prospector got the attention of the then head of Rio Tinto in London, Sir Val Duncan, who in turn brought in Kaiser steel of the USA, and the great Pilbara iron ore industry began, with first shipments from Mount Tom Price, then the Pilbara’s biggest mine.
Big Government was smaller then, it took only 22 months to build the mine, 2 towns, railway and port,and in August 1966, the Houn Maru sailed from Dampier with 52,000 tonnes of Mt Tom Price ore – a landmark moment for Australia’s export history.
Lang Hancock’s exploration, discoveries and determination contributed to many of the Pilbara’s most significant iron ore mines and deposits, including:
- Mount Tom Price – Lang’s 1952 discovery and tireless advocacy and valuable local knowledge helped lead to the development of Mount Tom Price, the then largest Pilbara iron ore mine and a landmark project in Australia’s iron ore export history.
- Hamersley Range / Turner River Gorge — Lang’s famous 1952 flight through the Turner River Gorge led him to identify the extraordinary iron ore potential of the Hamersley Range, helping found one of the world’s great iron ore provinces.
- Brockman – again a Hancock discovery, and a major Rio mine today.
- Hope Downs – discovered by Lang Hancock, which despite difficulties, now features 4 major mines, with more in the pipeline.
- Rhodes Ridge – one of the Pilbara’s major iron ore deposits, a discovery lang Hancock made that others missed, and closely associated with Lang Hancock’s long-term vision for the region.
- West Angelas – developed from tenements confiscated from Hancock and Wright.
- Marandoo – another Hancock discovery, but also sold in Hancock’s lifetime, now forming part of the Pilbara iron ore industry that grew from the discoveries, tenements and advocacy Lang helped drive.
- Paraburdoo – Lang Hancock told an interesting story of his initial struggle to persuade Rio to progress this discovery, which became one of Rio’s largest mines in the Pilbara.
- Channar – another important Pilbara iron ore operation, initially found by Hancock, but for years approximately one quarter could not be mined, based on a weed that was later found to cover a lot of other areas in the Pilbara, so wasn’t rare at all.
- And others – from early Hancock exploration activity before later development, further demonstrating the scale and importance of the iron ore province the flying prospector helped bring to national and international significance.
Many of Rio’s major Pilbara iron ore mines trace their origins to the discoveries, and groundwork driven by Lang Hancock, although Lang Hancock and his business partner, were not able to develop these themselves.
Lang understood that mining was essential. He saw it as the foundation on which industries, and nations are built, and can’t do without. As he stated :
“Our horn of plenty starts with a hole in the ground. Throughout history civilisations have been shaped by the use of minerals – the rise and fall of empires, the pattern of populations, and the evolution of human enterprise.”
The industry Lang helped unlock has transformed West Australia and strengthened the nation. Since the 1960s, Australia’s iron ore industry has shipped billions of tonnes from the Pilbara, generated more than $2 trillion in cumulative export earnings, delivered more than $162 billion in royalties to West Australia, and directly and indirectly supports hundreds of thousands of jobs not just in WA, but around the country.
What began with one man’s discovery and refusal to be told no became a six-decade national success story, and still delivering.
Lang Hancock was also known for his strong belief in enterprise, individual initiative and the importance of enabling industry to, invest, innovate and grow. He experienced firsthand that governments only hindered.
He said:
“I have always believed that the best government is the least government. Although governments do not and cannot positively help business, they can be disruptive and destructive.”
That spirit of enterprise continues through Hancock Prospecting today. From its origins as a very small family company, Hancock Prospecting has grown into a diversified international business Under the leadership of Lang Hancock’s daughter, Mrs Gina Rinehart AO, the company continues to battle poor government policies. Today Hancock Prospecting is Australia’s most successful ever private company, and one of the world’s leading private mining companies. It would be difficult to believe, Lang Hancock would not be very proud of the company, he and his wife, Hope, founded decades ago.
As we again celebrate each June 10th, Lang Hancock’s birthday, we reflect on a life marked by discovery, courage and persistence. More than a century after his birth, his legacy continues to shape the company he founded and the industries he contributed to.
Today, we honour Lang Hancock’s contribution to Australia and his fellow Australians.
Happy birthday Lang Hancock from everyone at Hancock Prospecting and Hancock Agriculture.
