Another door shuts for Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel

Clive Palmer’s legal team effectively wants compensation for $137m it says Queensland Nickel could have saved.

Clive Palmer’s lawyers said they would need time to respond to Citic’s claims there was no case to answer. Picture: Peter Wallis

Clive Palmer is running out of options to save his Queensland Nickel refinery after a court bid to claim more than $100 million in damages was put on hold.

Mr Palmer has been locked in a legal battle with Chinese-owned Citic Pacific over alleged unpaid royalties to his parent company Mineralogy.

A linked lawsuit, in which Mr Palmer claims Queensland Nickel suffered financial losses as a result of the two-year dispute and was allegedly unable to fund upgrades to the Yabulu refinery near Townsville, returned to the Brisbane Supreme Court yesterday.

Mr Palmer’s legal team effectively wants compensation for the $137m it says Queensland Nickel could have saved had it had the means to install roasters at the refinery.

Citic’s lawyer Alan Archibald QC argued Queensland Nickel was a third party operating “outside the universe” of the lawsuit, which he said dealt only with the relationship between the supplier and acquirer. “On any view, Queensland Nickel is a long, long way away,” Mr Archibald told the court. “It has nothing to do with Queensland Nickel. The involvement of Queensland Nickel is entirely serendipitous.”

Mr Palmer’s lawyers said they would need time to respond to Citic’s claims there was no case to answer. Justice David Jackson reserved his decision until February. The dispute between Mineralogy and Citic is not expected to go to trial until late next year.

Queensland Nickel refinery workers woke on Tuesday to find their last certain wages in the bank and a letter promising the company was “working around the clock” to find a solution.

The Australian understands senior staff have been told the refinery will remain open for at least one more week.