China made Clive Palmer one of the world’s richest people with a $3.8 billion fortune, and China is about to make the outspoken Australian even richer.
In the latest twist to a complex legal dispute Palmer and the Chinese conglomerate CITIC appear to have cleared the way for CITIC to expand its Australian iron ore mining activities.
Clive Palmer before to speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra. Photo by Stefan … [+]
A deal, which could signal the end to years of disputes between CITIC and Palmer, was quietly approved by the Supreme Court of Western Australia last week.
Once terms are finalized, and after CITIC has received the approval of the Australian Government’s foreign investment regulator, CITIC should be clear to develop a new mine which will ship magnetite ore though an existing port.
743rd And Rising
Ranked by Forbes as the world’s 743rd richest person Palmer is one of Australia’s most colorful businessmen and politician, serving briefly as a member of the Australian Parliament.
But he is also a regular headline maker with plans for a dinosaur park in his home State of Queensland and an unfulfilled vision to make a replica of the Titanic, arguably the world’s most famous shipwreck.
Those sideline interests are funded by an extremely generous contract Palmer struck with CITIC in 2006 when he sold a series of mining claims for $415 million with ongoing royalties payable on every tonne of ore mined.
The most recent estimate, based on the current high price for iron ore, points to Palmer collecting around $1 million a day in royalties from the original deal.
CITIC’s iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Photo Amy Coopes, AFP via Getty … [+]
The new agreement, which was reached after years to sometimes acrimonious negotiations, will give CITIC the right to mine an additional one billion tonnes of iron ore from the tenements controlled by Palmer’s principal company, Mineralogy.
According to an Australian Financial Review (AFR) newspaper report of a decision handed down by Justice Ken Martin, Palmer will receive a one-off payment of $142 million and $250 million a year in royalties once mining starts.
The court judgement is said to give both sides 21 days to consider their respective positions before Justice Martin hands down final orders.
Palmer told the AFR that he was largely satisfied with the court decision.
