Clive Palmer Mineralogy wins $14.3m Citic payout

Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy has scored a partial win against its estranged Chinese business partner Citic.

Mineralogy had originally been chasing $US81m from Citic after earlier this year winning the right to have the case re-heard. Picture: News Corp Australia.

Clive Palmer’s cash-strapped business empire has won a much needed financial injection, with the former Federal MP’s estranged Chinese business partner ordered to hand over $US10.7 million ($14.3m).

China’s Citic will also have to deposit another $US10.7m with the Western Australian Supreme Court to hold on trust while it and Mr Palmer’s Mineralogy continue their ongoing legal fight over royalties from the huge $US10 billion-plus Sino iron ore mine.

Mr Palmer also stands to receive another $US29.8m from Citic — with an extra $US29.8m to be handed to the court — as well as further future payments should Mineralogy drop its efforts to terminate Citic’s rights to operate Sino Iron.

Justice Kenneth Martin today found that the lack of royalties flowing to Mr Palmer had contributed to the “fiscal clouds” currently hanging over Mineralogy, although he noted that the royalty dispute was not solely to blame.

He ordered Citic to pay $US10.7m to Mineralogy within 30 days.

Citic had been fighting the case on the grounds that Mr Palmer may struggle to ever pay back the funds if he ultimately loses the royalty dispute.

“Having reviewed the extensive affidavit materials as now filed by the parties, I am presently satisfied that there are indeed a few fiscal ‘clouds’ hovering over the financial future of Mineralogy,” Justice Martin wrote.

“They might develop to put at risk a potential future recovery of funds paid over now, if required to be repaid. But then balanced against that, however, is the fact that Mineralogy has demonstrated (termination issue aside) a strong prima facie case which has to date only been answered weakly by the Citic parties.”

Mineralogy had originally been chasing $US81m from Citic after earlier this year winning the right to have the case re-heard.

Mineralogy went to the Supreme Court late last year seeking an urgent payment from Citic, with the case revealing the financial stress within Mr Palmer’s broader business empire. That legal effort failed, and Mr Palmer’s Queensland Nickel refinery collapsed into administration soon after.