Complete business history of Clive Palmer, including Titanic II and Qld Nickel
He’s the colourful billionaire leaving quite the legacy – one way or another. These are the good, bad and bizarre tales of Clive Palmer’s business empire.
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He’s the colourful billionaire leaving quite the legacy – one way or another.
Clive Palmer’s on-again, off-again love affair with his home state of Queensland took another twist in August 2023 when speculation arose surrounding the future of Palmer Coolum Resort on the Sunshine Coast.
The news only added to the long list of headlines over the years.
Born in Melbourne on March 26, 1954, Mr Palmer was raised on the Gold Coast and he proved so successful as a real estate agent in the 1980s he “retired” by age 29.
He founded three mining companies in the mid 1980s – the starting point for an empire that had its fair share of ups and downs ever since.
These are the good, bad and bizarre bits of business Mr Palmer or his companies have been involved with over the years.
SEPTEMBER 2001
A consortium led by Clive Palmer took the first step towards development of the Austeel project in Newcastle with a $2.5 billion contract signed with Italy’s Danieli Group for the construction of a steel mill.
About $1 billion of the development is expected to be subcontracted by Danieli to local business.
As Austeel chairman, Mr Palmer, who began his career as a Queensland property developer and National Party spokesman, stitched together a consortium of high profile industrial giants to push his dream of developing the Fortescue iron ore deposits in Western Australia and linking them with a Newcastle steel mill.
The project had met considerable scepticism but Mr Palmer had been promised $240 million in infrastructure support from the New South Wales Government.
DECEMBER 2011
Clive Palmer called on his long-time friend Greg Norman to come to the Gold Coast in 2021 to help build up The Colonial and Robina Woods golf courses.
Mr Palmer planned to increase memberships and functions at the clubs – which he formally took ownership of on December 1, 2011 – with the help of “the Great White Shark’’.
The first initiative put in place to build up numbers at the clubs was the offer of dual-course membership, where golfers can use both courses and driving ranges.
“We are confidently expecting memberships to grow,’’ Mr Palmer said.
“Now that we’ve taken over Robina Woods and The Colonial, it’s a new era for both of these great local golf courses and the future is very bright.’’
Mr Palmer also indicated new pro tournaments would be introduced and both courses would be further developed.
MARCH 2012
Clive Palmer failed in his legal stoush with Football Federation Australia to maintain ownership of Gold Coast United.
Queensland’s richest man had his much-vaunted court record tarnished when an interim Supreme Court injunction application against the termination of his A-League licence was thrown out.
Justice Jean Dalton said there were insufficient grounds to grant an injunction, in the process noting Palmer’s continued criticism of the FFA as “incompetent’’ had shown the two parties could no longer co-operate.
Palmer’s legal counsel, Peter Flanagan, had argued the FFA’s decision to terminate his licence for defying orders not to sport Freedom of Speech logos was a “punishment that did not fit the crime’’.
But Justice Dalton said the club had enough opportunity to remedy the situation but had deliberately ignored breach orders.
JULY 2012
Clive Palmer in July 2012 unveiled detailed plans for his Titanic II project, and declared an on board casino would be off limits to pensioners.
The outspoken businessman said a casino would most probably be restricted to first class passengers only to ensure those who could not afford to lose money didn’t.
“There’ll be some sort of screening (process),” Mr Palmer said at the time.
“We’ll be in international waters so we’ll probably be able to stop pensioners coming without breaching any legislation.”
He said the replica of the ill-fated Titanic would feature a number of key differences including the addition of a “safety deck” with “proper lifeboats”.
“New escape stairs, service elevators, airconditioning room and similar functions have also been added,” he said.
His ship would also be about one metre wider than the original for “stability”.
Mr Palmer declined to say what the project might cost, but he ruled out seeking any co-investors.
AUGUST 2012
Clive Palmer unveiled plans for a multibillion-dollar casino complex, including an international airport and hovercraft port, at his Coolum Palmer Resort on the Sunshine Coast.
A trademark for the name Coolum Casino and a domain name were registered in March 2012, leading to speculation the billionaire was planning a casino.
The ambitious scheme unveiled includes a casino, plus a hovercraft station, an international airport and convention centre, along with water, beachside amusement and wildlife parks, and a hotel with thousands of rooms and an aquarium.
Mr Palmer said the complex would be a boost for regional tourism, employing 9000 people and revitalising the sector across the state.
JUNE 2013
Clive Palmer decided not to float his Resourcehouse group on the Hong Kong stock exchange after investors rejected the company’s $US3.6 billion ($A3.36 billion) price, but he did not rule out returning for another stab at a public share offer, a spokesman said.
Mr Palmer had been considering floating Resourcehouse for two years, coming close to issuing a prospectus on three previous occasions.
But the latest proposed float attracted criticism due to the hefty price tag and a clause that meant Mr Palmer’s private company, Mineralogy, would receive about $US1.15 billion in fees over the first three years of operation.
Resourcehouse’s chairman, Domenic Martino, said the company’s board had decided to pull the plug because of a decline in “global market conditions” as it marketed the float to institutional investors over the past few weeks.
DECEMBER 2013
Jurassic Park was officially open for business.
But Clive Palmer’s ambitious dinosaur theme park, Palmersaurus, didn’t live up to its colossal expectations.
Located in the grounds of the billionaire’s Palmer Coolum Resort, the park, dubbed the “world’s largest dinosaur park”, officially opened for business in December 2013.
The 160 semi-moving, life-size dinosaurs rub shoulders with guests of Palmer’s luxe resort. Separated by a flimsy wire fence and green mesh, some of the installations were situated just metres away from guest accommodation, who must endure audible roars that can be activated at the touch of a button.
JANUARY 2016
Administrators were appointed to Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel refinery following the sacking of almost 240 workers.
FTI Consulting issued a statement advising the directors of Queensland Nickel Pty had appointed them as voluntary administrators.
“The Directors of Queensland Nickel have advised that the appointment of the Administrators from FTI Consulting was made after full consideration of Queensland Nickel’s obligations and its duties to ensure it acts in the best interests of employees, creditors and other stakeholders,” the statement read.
FTI Consulting spokesman John Park said the administrators were intending to find a way to “maximise” the chances of the business continuing.
MAY 2016
It was the year Clive Palmer’s Titanic II was due to start its maiden voyage from England to New York, but this dream now looked sunk.
The mining magnate revealed his plans in 2012 but across 2015 and 2016 the project stalled, with talk of a 2018 launch replaced with quips by Mr Palmer about retirement.
Finnish company Deltamarin was commissioned to design Titanic II in June 2012, but by November 2014 it had ceased work on the project.
A Deltamarin spokeswoman said at the time that the company had finished its commissions with Blue Star Line, the Palmer company behind Titanic II.
But workers said in 2015 that construction “had never launched” and they thought it was a “rumour”.
MAY 2019
The cost of Clive Palmer’s flamboyant plan to recreate the Titanic in Europe doubled to as much as $1 billion, it was revealed in May 2019.
Titanic II’s designer Fredrik Johansson said at the time the cost of building an exact replica would increase “exponentially”.
Mr Johansson also said the controversial businessman had never missed a payment for work on Titanic II.
“We haven’t had any problems with them. They have been very smooth in that respect. They have been a good client,” he said.
When asked if the price had blown out from $500 million, he replied: “That was the cost at the time but today the ship yarn market is overheated so prices have come up a bit. It could be anything.
“Some of the biggest ships now cost $1 billion each. This is a smaller ship but a rather complex project so it’s very difficult to say. We haven’t started a detailed cost analysis.”
OCTOBER 2019
Emboldened by Adani Carmichael coal mine’s success, Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal company in October 2019 stepped up their efforts to develop their significantly larger Galilee Basin mine.
Proposed to be built 200km west of Emerald, the $6.4 billion Galilee Coal Project – formerly known as the China First – would be four times the size of the Carmichael mine when fully developed.
The Galilee Coal Project had sat dormant after gaining EIS approvals from the State and Federal Governments in 2013 and draft environmental authority approval for the mining lease in 2015.
NOVEMBER 2020
New photos reveal the state of the Clive Palmer’s Coolum resort following the billionaire businessman’s $20.8 million payout to settle a long-running court dispute with villa owners.
In its glory days the former five-star Hyatt Regency Coolum was the home of the Australian PGA Championship, but years of closure have taken a toll.
The resort even hosted a Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting opened by the Queen before it was purchased by Clive Palmer in 2011.
The Daily had an inside look on Wednesday at the Palmer Coolum Resort villas, as a guest of one of the owners.
The resort was closed in 2015, putting 600 staff out of work and shareholders of 144 villas in limbo.
Today the resort is near deserted, however the golf course remains open.
Villa owner Chris Shannon said he believed it was possible to bring the resort back up to scratch.
He said the villas in the golf body corporate – including his – were in better condition than those in the tennis body corporate.
Mr Palmer owns a majority share in the tennis body corporate.
MARCH 2021
Locals expressed scepticism in March 2021 when Clive Palmer revealed plans for a $100m revamp of the mothballed Coolum resort.
The mining billionaire said via a statement that the redevelopment would include replicas of the Wonders of the World and famous landmarks including a full-size Trevi Fountain – a far cry from the 300-villa derelict resort that it had become.
Mr Palmer said at the time that about 100 tradies and construction staff were onsite with another 100 expected to be employed on the project by mid-year, ahead of an anticipated opening of stage one in the second half of 2022.
DECEMBER 2021
A proposal to build a new coal-fired power station in regional Queensland was hauled in by the Deputy Premier over concerns it could affect matters of “state and potentially national environmental significance”.
Waratah Coal – wholly owned by Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy Group – lodged a proposal with the Barcaldine Regional Council to build a 1400mwh power station which would service the public network and $6.4bn Galilee Coal Project.
The power station, access roads and substation would be built on a cattle property 30km northwest of the town of Alpha and create 90 jobs when operating.
Mr Miles said the proposal was being considered by the council under its outdated 2006 planning scheme and did not require public consultation.
FEBRUARY 2022
Rumours emerged that Clive Palmer had purchased Adolf Hitler’s bulletproof Mercedes-Benz and a Rolls-Royce owned by King Edward VIII to feature in a new museum he wanted to build on the Gold Coast.
It was reported that Palmer had allegedly been negotiating to buy Hitler’s Mercedes-Benz 770 Grosser Offener Tourenwagen for two years from an unnamed Russian billionaire.
The so-called Super Mercedes with bulletproof glass and armoured panelling was seized in France by the US military at the end of World War II.
After the war it was purchased by an American tobacco billionaire and has changed hands several times before allegedly being acquired by Mr Palmer.
Mr Palmer’s Mineralogy company allegedly purchased the 1929 Rolls Royce in London.
Mr Palmer, though, denied buying the car: “I did not buy Hitler’s car. Its (sic) more Fake News,” he tweeted in March 2022.
Mr Palmer was warned at the time he could face the full force of the law if his alleged attempt to import the car breached Australian customs and sanctions rules, after coalition and Labor MPs responded to the report.
In all, Mr Palmer hoped to have 600 cars in ever changing exhibitions on the Gold Coast and was searching for land there.
MARCH 2022
A minerals bonanza worth millions of dollars in royalties and a thousand jobs for Queensland was going begging as the nickel price spiked to record highs, and Clive Palmer’s Townsville nickel refinery slumbered on in caretaker mode.
Palmer insisted in March 2022 he was red hot to go in reopening the Yabulu refinery which went into voluntary administration in April 2016 after nearly half a century of operations.
Yabulu closed its doors when nickel was fetching under $10,000 a tonne.
At the time the metal hit $100,000 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange.
“We can create a thousand direct jobs in Townsville for the community and everyone can benefit,’’ Palmer declared at the time.
The only problem was Palmer needed a berth at the Townsville Port to both import nickel ore for processing and export of the finished product.
The Townsville Port Authority also appeared positive, saying it is continuing negotiations with the Palmer-owned Queensland Nickel which runs Yabulu.
DECEMBER 2022
Clive Palmer turned $1 into more than $1 billion by offloading the Yabulu nickel and cobalt refinery in Townsville.
Palmer did not disclosed the precise sale figure to Switzerland-based special purpose vehicle Zero Carbon Investek, but it was understood to be between $1 billion and $2 billion.
Palmer paid just $1 for Queensland Nickel when he bought it from BHP seven years before it collapsed in 2016 with the loss of hundreds of jobs.
Creditors chased him for $200 million and Townsville City Council demanded $2.5 million in unpaid rates and water charges.
The transaction revolved around a share purchase deal involving Palmer’s joint venture shares in QNI Resources Pty Ltd and QNI Metals Pty Ltd.
Several years ago, his lawyers had extracted the refinery from the control of administrators.
“I am happy to announce that this first-class asset has found enthusiastic and expert new owners in Zero Carbon Investek,” Palmer said at the time.
“This is a big win for the people of North Queensland, providing jobs and economic benefits.”
FEBRUARY 2023
Clive Palmer’s contentious Central Queensland mine became the first coal project ever to be rejected under the nation’s environmental laws.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek announced she had blocked the project, deeming it would have an “unacceptable” impact on the areas surrounding it — including the Great Barrier Reef just 10km away.
The project was to be an open-cut thermal and coking coal mine 130km northwest of Rockhampton producing up to 10 million tonnes of thermal and coking coal for overseas export annually for 25 years.
Ms Plibersek flagged moves in August 2022 to block the proposed mine, with ensuing public consultation resulting in 9000 comments — 98 per cent of which called for the project to be axed.
APRIL 2023
Mining magnate Clive Palmer’s proposal to build the biggest thermal coal mine in Australia was killed, with Queensland’s environmental authority rejecting the project.
The Department of Environment and Science confirmed it had decided to reject Waratah Coal’s environmental authority application for the proposed Galilee Coal Mine.
This was in line with the historic ruling of the Land Court late in 2022, which found the human rights of traditional owners would be unjustifiably limited should the project go ahead on top of the potential for serious climate harm.
Land Court president Fleur Kingham recommended both the mining lease and environmental authority be rejected, with the decision ultimately in the hands of the relevant government authorities.
JULY 2023
Mining magnate Clive Palmer planned to use his foreign-based company Zeph Investments to sue the Australian government for a whopping $41.3 billion, in a legal action tied to his interests in the Galilee Basin.
Zeph, Mr Palmer’s Singapore-based company, planned to claim Australia breached its international trade obligations to it.
The dispute relates to “certain mineral exploration permits” held by Mr Palmer’s Waratah Coal in the Galilee Basin.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus’s spokeswoman said Mr Palmer liked to use expensive lawsuits to “get his own way” and said Australia would “vigorously defend” itself.
Details of the sensational legal action were disclosed in answers to questions on notice from Senate estimates hearings, though details of the specifics remain scarce.
Zeph provided the Attorney-General’s department with a notice of intention to start proceedings against Australia on February 21, before serving a notice of arbitration on May 29 to start proceedings.
It said the $41.3bn damages claim was “unsubstantiated”.
Mr Palmer’s company was taking action through an “investor-state dispute settlement tribunal”, a rarely used mechanism that forms part of some free-trade agreements.
It claims a breach of obligations under the Association of South East Asian Nations -Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, specifically from a section related to investment.
JULY 2024
A South East Queensland council approved a development application for a multimillion-dollar automotive museum by billionaire Clive Palmer.
Somerset Regional Council, west of Brisbane, approved the development application by Mineralogy, owned by Mr Palmer, at its ordinary council meeting.
It came after Mr Palmer withdrew his application for a massive car museum at the Palmer Coolum Resort, Yaroomba.
The development application was submitted for a property in West Rd at Patrick Estate near Lowood.
Originally published as Complete business history of Clive Palmer, including Titanic II and Qld Nickel
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