Monrovia – Former Chief Govt Officer of Ivanhoe Atlantic, Bronwyn Barnes, has filed a lawsuit towards the mining agency, alleging wrongful dismissal in a transfer that marks a dramatic flip from her latest position as a key dealmaker for the corporate.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
Based on The Australian Monetary Overview, Barnes has sued Ivanhoe Atlantic—owned by American mining magnate Robert Friedland—claiming she was unjustly dismissed. The authorized motion comes lower than a yr after Barnes led negotiations with the Liberian Authorities that culminated in a landmark rail entry settlement for the corporate.
Court docket paperwork filed with the Supreme Court docket of Western Australia present that Barnes is in search of damages, cost in lieu of discover, and authorized prices.
Barnes alleges that in January the corporate decreased her duties and duties in breach of her employment contract earlier than later dismissing her for what Ivanhoe described as “critical misconduct.” She claims the termination was wrongful and has precipitated her monetary and reputational hurt.
Neither Barnes—who’s represented by outstanding Perth lawyer Martin Bennett—nor Ivanhoe Atlantic has disclosed particulars of the alleged misconduct. Barnes stays a board member of Western Australia–primarily based power and mining companies Finder Power and Indiana Sources.
In response, Ivanhoe Atlantic rejected the claims.
“Ivanhoe Atlantic believes the motion taken by Ms. Barnes is with out advantage,” an organization spokesperson mentioned. “We intend to defend it vigorously.”
Studies point out that Barnes’ dismissal adopted Ivanhoe Atlantic’s determination to desert plans for an Australian Securities Change (ASX) itemizing in favor of a United States itemizing.
Friedland recruited Barnes 4 years in the past, when the corporate was working below the title Excessive Energy Exploration. A part of her mandate was to discover a possible ASX preliminary public providing (IPO), with Ivanhoe hiring funding banks to evaluate its prospects within the Australian market.
Ivanhoe Atlantic’s flagship asset is the Kon Kweni high-grade iron ore deposit in Guinea’s Nimba Mountains, roughly 160 kilometers from Rio Tinto’s Simandou venture. The deposit is anticipated to provide iron ore with a grade of about 66.5 % purity, among the many highest globally.
Based on the Monetary Overview, the corporate had deliberate to make use of a Sydney IPO to assist finance the estimated US$1.8 billion Kon Kweni mine and rail venture. Nevertheless, that technique shifted towards the USA after Ivanhoe secured long-awaited approvals for rail entry via Liberia alongside a route often known as the “Liberty Hall.”
The publication stories that Ivanhoe now favors a U.S. main itemizing with a potential secondary ASX itemizing. Friedland has positioned Kon Kweni as a Western-aligned various to Simandou, a China-backed venture, amid broader efforts by Western nations to cut back reliance on Chinese language-dominated provide chains.
Throughout her tenure, Barnes repeatedly denied any Chinese language involvement in Ivanhoe Atlantic’s operations. In a 2025 interview with FrontPage Africa, she acknowledged that the corporate had no hyperlinks to China.
Extra not too long ago, Barnes publicly insisted that iron ore from Kon Kweni wouldn’t be exported to China.
“As an American firm dedicated to U.S. nationwide safety, we is not going to export via China’s Trans-Guinean railway,” she mentioned.
The Trans-Guinean railway, which connects Simandou to the port of Morebaya, was financed by a Chinese language-led consortium together with Baowu Sources, in partnership with Rio Tinto and the Guinean authorities.
Whereas Barnes’ departure was initially perceived as mutual and amicable, analysts say the lawsuit suggests deep tensions between the previous CEO and her employer, and will check employment regulation boundaries in Australia’s company sector.
