Billionaire Clive Palmer says Chinese conglomerate CITIC is in breach of contract by denying him access to a magnetite mining operation in Western Australia where about 3000 jobs hinge on the outcome of their legal stoush.

Australia’s sixth-richest person said his Mineralogy company and its Chinese partner are locked in an access dispute, in response to questions from The Australian Financial Review about a Supreme Court judgment that endorsed claims from CITIC subsidiaries that the company’s $US12 billion ($18 billion) Sino Iron magnetite operations may have to shut down.