Monrovia — Former Chief Executive Officer of Ivanhoe Atlantic, Bronwyn Barnes, has filed a lawsuit against the mining firm, alleging wrongful dismissal in a move that marks a dramatic turn from her recent role as a key dealmaker for the company.
According to The Australian Financial Review, Barnes has sued Ivanhoe Atlantic--owned by American mining magnate Robert Friedland--claiming she was unjustly dismissed. The legal action comes less than a year after Barnes led negotiations with the Liberian Government that culminated in a landmark rail access agreement for the company.
Court documents filed with the Supreme Court of Western Australia show that Barnes is seeking damages, payment in lieu of notice, and legal costs.
Barnes alleges that in January the company reduced her duties and responsibilities in breach of her employment contract before later dismissing her for what Ivanhoe described as "serious misconduct." She claims the termination was wrongful and has caused her financial and reputational harm.
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Neither Barnes--who is represented by prominent Perth lawyer Martin Bennett--nor Ivanhoe Atlantic has disclosed details of the alleged misconduct. Barnes remains a board member of Western Australia-based energy and mining firms Finder Energy and Indiana Resources.
In response, Ivanhoe Atlantic rejected the claims.
"Ivanhoe Atlantic believes the action taken by Ms. Barnes is without merit," a company spokesperson said. "We intend to defend it vigorously."
Reports indicate that Barnes' dismissal followed Ivanhoe Atlantic's decision to abandon plans for an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listing in favor of a United States listing.
Friedland recruited Barnes four years ago, when the company was operating under the name High Power Exploration. Part of her mandate was to explore a potential ASX initial public offering (IPO), with Ivanhoe hiring investment banks to assess its prospects in the Australian market.
Ivanhoe Atlantic's flagship asset is the Kon Kweni high-grade iron ore deposit in Guinea's Nimba Mountains, approximately 160 kilometers from Rio Tinto's Simandou project. The deposit is expected to produce iron ore with a grade of about 66.5 percent purity, among the highest globally.
According to the Financial Review, the company had planned to use a Sydney IPO to help finance the estimated US$1.8 billion Kon Kweni mine and rail project. However, that strategy shifted toward the United States after Ivanhoe secured long-awaited approvals for rail access through Liberia along a route known as the "Liberty Corridor."
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The publication reports that Ivanhoe now favors a U.S. primary listing with a possible secondary ASX listing. Friedland has positioned Kon Kweni as a Western-aligned alternative to Simandou, a China-backed project, amid broader efforts by Western nations to reduce reliance on Chinese-dominated supply chains.
During her tenure, Barnes repeatedly denied any Chinese involvement in Ivanhoe Atlantic's operations. In a 2025 interview with FrontPage Africa, she stated that the company had no links to China.
More recently, Barnes publicly insisted that iron ore from Kon Kweni would not be exported to China.
"As an American company committed to U.S. national security, we will not export through China's Trans-Guinean railway," she said.
The Trans-Guinean railway, which connects Simandou to the port of Morebaya, was financed by a Chinese-led consortium including Baowu Resources, in partnership with Rio Tinto and the Guinean government.
While Barnes' departure was initially perceived as mutual and amicable, analysts say the lawsuit suggests deep tensions between the former CEO and her employer, and could test employment law boundaries in Australia's corporate sector.
