Andrew and Nicola Forrest announce separation

Andrew and Nicola Forrest, believed to be Australia's richest couple, have announced their separation.

They said the split would have no impact on their mining company, Fortescue Metals, or other projects.

"After 31 years of marriage, we have made the decision to live apart," the couple said in a joint statement.

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"Our friendship and commitment to our family remains strong.

"There is no impact on the operations, control or direction of Fortescue, Minderoo or Tattarang."

The couple sought to convey a sense of stability throughout the major change.

"We will continue our shared mission to create and gift our wealth to tackle community and global challenges, as recently shown by last month's donation of one-fifth of our Fortescue shareholding to Minderoo Foundation," they said.

The confirmation came after Mr Forrest gave Ms Forrest half the ownership of their flagship company, Tattarang, and more than $1.1 billion worth of Fortescue shares was moved into a new company, Coaxial Ventures, owned by her, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Mr Forrest, commonly known as "Twiggy" started his first mining company, Anaconda Nickel (now Minara Resources) in 1994.

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He remains Australia's second-richest person in the latest AFR Rich List, with an estimated wealth of $31.44 billion.

Only fellow mining magnate Gina Rinehart is richer, with $44.33 billion to her name.

After amassing billions in mining, the Forrests founded the philanthropic Minderoo Foundation in 2001.

Its work in recent years has included environmental projects and supplying millions of COVID-19 tests to Australia in the early days of the pandemic.

Last month, the Forrests donated one fifth of their Fortescue Metals shareholding, or almost $5 billion, to Minderoo.

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