Clive Palmer told to open his books if he wants nickel lifeline
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said they would not offer any financial support to Clive Palmer's nickel refinery in Townsville unless they were able to gain access to the company's books.
Mr Palmer's Queensland Nickel has called for an urgent meeting with the Palaszczuk government after the resources owner turned federal MP lost a court bid on Monday to extract $65 million from his estranged Chinese business partners, CITIC Pacific.
Despite Supreme Court judge Paul Tottle accusing the mining magnate of exaggerating his "dire" financial position, the Townsville-based refinery is close to being placed in receivership, resulting in the loss of 800 jobs.
But Ms Palazczuk said the government had commissioned an independent assessment of Queensland Nickel which was being hindered by not being able to get a complete picture on the company's finances.
"We are taking the issue seriously. We understand what's at stake here, a lot of jobs and a lot of families and this would have a detrimental impact on the Townsville economy," Ms Palaszczuk told ABC Radio.
"There needs to be more information from the company if the government is going to make a decision - one way or the other - we need to have all the facts and it's my understanding we are still waiting on information."
Mr Palmer has repeatedly claimed the company is in strong financial health despite the plunge in international nickel prices.
But this changed last week when he used the company's financial stress as the latest tactic in the long-running legal battle with CITIC over royalties from an iron ore project in Western Australia.
CITIC have paid Mineralogy $US415 million for the right to mine the iron ore tenements and also pay an undisclosed royalty on the unprocessed ore, known as "Royalty A".
The legal dispute is over whether CITIC owes Mr Palmer a royalty on the iron ore concentrate, known as "Royalty B".
Mr Palmer has been sweating on the extra royalties and has been using money from his other commercial interest, including Quensland Nickel and the Palmer Coolum resort, to help pay for his escalating legal bills.
Mr Palmer has other extensive property assets, including two golf courses on the Gold Coast, but is loathe to sell them to help prop up Queensland Nickel which is a major employer in Townsville.
Justice Tottle on Monday said that while there was a risk Queensland Nickel could be placed in administration, he said he was not convinced of the "dire consequences" outlined by parties associated with Mr Palmer.
Queensland Nickel managing director Clive Mensink on Tuesday called for an urgent meeting with the Premier and Treasurer Curtis Pitt over the future of the refinery.
Preliminary negotiations with Queensland Nickel have previously stalled because Mr Palmer's company has refused to open up their books to the state government.
Mr Mensink said the company was not seeking any funds from the Queensland government, rather a guarantee on a short-term basis secured by more than a billion dollars of assets until nickel prices improve mid-next year.
"The current nickel price has been as low as $3.50 a pound but by June 2016 current forecasts support our operations," he said.
He said the Queensland government needed to do more to help keep the refinery afloat, saying it supported 2500 workers in the Townsville economy.
"Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt gives away $40 million each year to the foreign-owned Gladstone smelter but has refused to support Queensland company Queensland Nickel, the largest employer in North Queensland," he said.
"The government needs to give the same level of priority to the people of Townsville that it gives the people of Gladstone. I call on the Premier and the Treasurer to clear their diaries for urgent talks on these matters, for the sake of more than 2000 local jobs."
A spokesman for CITIC said their dispute with Mr Palmer was with Mineralogy, not the Yabulu nickel refinery.
"Over the years we've paid hundreds of millions of dollars to Mr Palmer and Mineralogy as well as an ongoing royalty," the spokesman said outside court in Perth on Monday.
"It's our view that how Mr Palmer chooses to spend this money and how he chooses to manage his other ventures - whether it's golf courses, nickel mines, soccer teams, the Titanic 2 or robotic dinosaurs, is a matter for him. Our focus is on developing the Sino Iron project and making sure it reaches its full potential."
