Jun 12, 2026 – 11.47amAnalysts and investors aboard the MinRes Air flight bound for the company’s Wodgina lithium mine in May were eager to get time with Chris Ellison. After 18 months of self-inflicted scandal and drama, the New Zealand-born billionaire had burnished his reputation as one of the most polarising figures in mining. But it was the decision – seemingly his – about who he sat next to on the Airbus A319 for the two-hour flight from Perth into the Pilbara that stood out.Ellison rode shotgun alongside AustralianSuper’s senior portfolio manager Luke Smith, a veteran of the nation’s mining scene who had travelled from Melbourne for the Mineral Resources investor trip with his junior colleague Faith Woon.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Mark Di StefanoColumnistMark Di Stefano is a Rear Window columnist at The Financial Review, based in the Sydney newsroom. You can securely send him tips encrypted messaging platform Signal (@MarkDiStef.82). He previously worked at ABC, BuzzFeed News and The Information.Mark WembridgeResources reporterMark Wembridge covers resource companies for The Australian Financial Review, based in Perth. He formerly worked for the Financial Times in London and Hong Kong.Fetching latest articles