Australia's richest person, iron ore magnate Ms Gina Rinehart could see her fortune nearly double to AUD 20 billion after South Korean steel giant POSCO moved to increase its stake in the Roy Hill iron ore project.

POSCO last week announced it would pay KRW 1.8 trillion (AUD 1.5 billion) to raise its interest in the project to 15% by mid 2014.

POSCO the world's third-largest steelmaker, already owns 3.75% of Roy Hill. The deal places an estimated value of AUD 10 billion on the project in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Roy Hill is a joint venture between Ms Rinehart's company Hancock Prospecting and Posco, which says it is still in talks to finalise the purchase.

POSCO announced its intention to acquire 15% of Roy Hill in 2010 but did not reveal the value of the deal until last week.

(Sourced from ABC/Reuters)