Ms Gina Rinehart has appointed controversial climate change sceptic Ian Plimer to the board of several key family companies.

According to disclosures made to the Australians Securities and Investments Commission overnight, Professor Plimer was appointed to the boards of Roy Hill Holdings and Queensland Coal Investments on January 25.

Roy Hill is key to Mrs Rinehart's ambitions to challenge the big three Pilbara iron ore players in her own right.

The company is the manager of the Roy Hill mine, which plans to export 55 million tonnes of iron ore a year through Port Hedland when it is up and running at full capacity.

Prof Plimer is an experienced mining geologist and a professor of mining geology at the University of Adelaide. He currently serves on the board of stock exchange listed miners Ivanhoe Australia and Silver City Mines, and has held previous board roles at CBH Mining and a number of other Australian mining companies.

(Sourced from www.perthnow.com.au)