Gina Rinehart becomes MP Materials’ top shareholder

Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest person, has become the biggest shareholder in US rare-earths producer MP Materials, boosting her global bet on strategic minerals.

Her privately held Hancock Prospecting Ltd. held about $US3 billion ($4.6b) of US-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds as of September 30, according to a new regulatory filing.

Hancock bought an additional 1 million shares in MP Materials during the third quarter, lifting its stake to 8.4 per cent and making it the firm’s biggest shareholder.

After the rare-earth miner’s share price doubled over the period, the holding was valued at $US997 million at the end of September - the biggest position in Hancock’s portfolio, according to Bloomberg calculations.

MP Materials chief executive and founder James Litinsky is the company’s second biggest shareholder, with a 7.9 per cent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The firm - operator of the only rare-earths mine in the US - secured a $US400 million equity investment from the Pentagon in July, drawing Mrs Rinehart’s empire deeper into America’s defense supply chain.

The entrepreneur, who made her fortune from developing massive iron ore deposits in Western Australia, is currently worth $US32.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.