Clive Palmer digs deep for Citic court stoush

Clive Palmer is pushing ahead with costly legal action against his estranged Chinese business partner in WA.

Clive Palmer is pushing ahead with costly legal action against his estranged Chinese business partner in Western Australia, despite the likelihood that his Queensland Nickel refinery will close within days unless its admin­istrators are thrown a $10 million lifeline.

The federal MP’s flagship priv­ate company, Mineralogy, which admitted last year that it was running short of funds, yesterday asked the Supreme Court of Western Australia for the right to pursue a $10 billion damages claim against Chinese company Citic.

Mineralogy applied to change its pleadings in the case for the ninth time in three years, continuing a bitter legal brawl on which it has spent millions. The move could end speculation that Mineralogy might pull back in its long legal fight against Citic due to a shortage of cash.

The case came as The Australian confirmed last night that a request by the administrator of Queensland Nickel to the state government for a $10m emergency overdraft was a “last resort­” and the plant might close on Monday without the money.

The administrator, FTI Consulting, had approached “anyone and everyone else”, including Mr Palmer, with no success. An FTI spokesman said the cash was needed to bridge the gap between the price of nickel and the company’s costs.

He said administrators continued to seek a solution by way of a buyer or a deed of company arrangement but conceded the situation was dire.

Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt held talks with the administrators yesterday but made it clear that the position of the government­, which previously rejected Mr Palmer’s request for a taxpayer-funded bailout, was unlikely to change.

Premier Annastacia Palasz­czuk said it was Mr Palmer’s responsibility­ to “let Queens­landers know what assets he is putting on the table first and foremost”. She said her government had provided support for affected workers and fast-tracked local infrastructure in response to the refinery’s struggles.

“My commitment to Townsville is very clear; I want to know what Clive Palmer’s commitment to Townsville is,” she said.

A QNI source said any closure announcement would not be made until the administrators had addressed its committee of creditors at a meeting scheduled for Monday in Townsville.

In Perth, Mineralogy asked Supreme Court judge John Chaney­ for permission to alter its $10bn legal claim. The judge will rule in the next few weeks on whether Mineralogy can amend its pleadings, ahead of a full hearing on the matter later this year.

Last November, Justice Chaney­ found that Mineralogy engaged in an “abuse of process” when it launched its legal claim against Citic, sparking yesterday’s application for it to be dealt with as part of separate case.