Months after Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting bought a 50% stake in two cattle stations in the Kimberly, Australia for $40 million through a joint venture with Downford Investments, Hancock Prospecting is close to finalizing the purchase of four additional cattle stations for $65 million. This second round of station purchases will bring Ms. Rinehart control of 1.5 million hectares across Western Australia. The four stations in question, Moola Bulla, Mount Amhurst, Beefwood Park, and Shamrock Station have been purchased from South Africa-based Western Australian Pastoral Co. and cover 1.037 million hectares. The softening demand for ores from Asia is driving mining players to diversify into agribusiness to take advantage of the growing demand from Asia for beef. For the six months ending in June 2014, Australian agribusiness asset transactions recorded their strongest half year in over a decade, with over 20 transactions worth $3 billion. Australian cattle properties remain available on the market including the 180,000 hectare Legune Station in the Kimberly with the capacity to run 32,000 head.
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