JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Billionaire Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy has claimed a victory against former partner China-owned Citic, with the Supreme Court of Western Australia Court of Appeals finding that an application for an injunction should be reheard.
Last year, the Supreme Court of Western Australia ruled against Palmer, which claimed that Citic owed him a $48-million advance on disputed royalties from the Sino Iron project, in the Pilbara.
Palmer said on Friday that the Court of Appeals had, in effect, found that the royalty to Mineralogy was calculable and could be determined.
However, a Citic Pacific Mining spokesperson said that the Appeals Court decision simply meant that Mineralogy's application for an injunction would be reheard and stressed that the court had not made an order for any payment.
“It’s important to remember that the trial of Mineralogy's claim for royalty component B is yet to take place. At the trial, the parties will each present their evidence," the Citic spokesperson stated.
Citic bought the rights to its Sino Iron project from Mineralogy for $415-million in 2006 and agreed to pay royalties once production started. The two companies have been fighting a series of court cases over how much is owed.