Fortescue has ended a long and public battle with former employees accused of stealing the iron ore miner’s data for their green iron startup.
The mining behemoth’s lawyers had claimed ex-chief scientist Bart Kolodziejczyk and technology development lead Bjorn Winther-Jensen used green-iron technology they helped develop while working for the miner, to form rival startup Element Zero.
Element Zero’s chief executive Michael Masterman, another former Fortescue employee, was also taken to court over the issue.
But after numerous court appearances and months of dispute, the Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest-controlled mining giant and the startup confirmed on Wednesday the legal stoush had come to an end.
Mr Masterman welcomed the outcome and said it would end almost two years of uncertainty for Element Zero.
“We are delighted to put this episode behind us,” he said in a statement.
“We can now focus all of our deep and capable technical resources on rapidly advancing our iron-ore-to-iron technology and developing our manufacturing sites in the Pilbara heartland of Port Hedland and in the US.”
Each side will pay for their own expenses, according to Element Zero.
Fortescue, one-third owned by billionaire and company chairman Mr Forrest, also confirmed the outcome on Wednesday.
It had earlier been seeking damages or compensation, which could have included any profits gained by Element Zero from the allegedly stolen invention.
“We have reached a settlement with the parties, the terms of which are confidential,” a Fortescue spokesman said in a statement.
During the spat, Element Zero accused Fortescue of using “unprecedented surveillance” and private investigators to go after its former workers.
In 2024, Element Zero’s offices and Dr Kolodziejczyk and Dr Winther-Jensen’s homes were searched under a Federal Court order and four terabytes of material was seized.
Mr Masterman and Mr Forrest had previously been close, with the ex-employee telling the court he maintained relatively regular contact after leaving Fortescue, including attending parties and the funeral of the billionaire’s father.
In the lawsuit, Element Zero and the executives were accused of breach of contract, copyright infringement, breach of corporations and consumer law, and breach of their fiduciary duties.
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