The legal battles of Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest woman, are apparently multiplying though not at the same pace as her wealth. On Wednesday, Ms Rinehart faced another court war beside the family court feud she is engaged with her three estranged adult children.

This time, the adversaries are the children of her father's former partner, Peter Wright. The 11-year dispute is over the iron-ore discoveries in Western Australia made by Mr Wright and Lang Hancock, Ms Rinehart's father. The find, done in the 1950s and 1960s, made the two families among the richest in Australia and the world, although the Rineharts have far eclipsed the Wrights, who are ranked 14th in BRW's Rich 200 list, while the Rineharts are number 1.

The Wright children, Angela Bennett and Michael Wright, stripped Ms Rinehart of a 25 per cent stake in the Rhodes Ridge property which has over 3 billion tonnes of iron ore. The Supreme Court of Western Australia is Perth is slated to begin hearing Ms Rinehart's appeal on Wednesday.

The battle for control is due to the high price of iron ore which has more than doubled to $131.40 per tonne in June from only $59.10 in late March 2009. A resources analyst estimates that Rhodes Ridge is expected to generate $2.5 billion yearly in operating profit for the Rio Tinto Group (ASX: RIO), which owns 50 per cent of the venture.

Iron ore is the revenue driver for Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP). About 31 per cent of Rio's sale of iron ore and 28 per cent of BHP's are to China, the largest customers of the two mining giants.

The lawsuit is the offshoot of a ruling in 2010 by Justice Michael Murray of the Supreme Court that decided Wright Prospecting owned 50 per cent of the mine while the remaining half belongs to Rio Tinto. The decision was based on a 1984 agreement between Messrs. Hancock and Wright.

Ironically, the 1984 agreement was made by the partners and long-time friends to define their assets and keep their heirs out of court. The court decision wiped $530 million from Ms Rinehart's personal wealth and billions more in potential earnings, although it did not stop her to becoming the world's richest woman, after being Australia's and Asia's wealthiest woman.

Mr Murray maintained that the validity of the agreement died with Mr Hancock in 1992, but barrister Steven Finch argued that it is still valid and is proof that Hancock Prospecting has a permanent stake in the Rhodes Ridge mine.

Ms Rinehart's legal battle with her own children over control of a trust set up by Mr Lang is still ongoing.

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