Mediation ordered for Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy and CITIC Pacific as Sino Ore expansion blue continues

A Supreme Court judge has ordered Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy and CITIC Pacific to have one last crack at mediation as they continue to fight over expansion delays at the Sino Iron project. Despite mine expansion proposals being sent to the State Government on Monday, Mineralogy is still fighting a breach of contact claim and damages claim linked to plans shared by CITIC in August 2023. Justice Michael Lundberg on Friday ordered senior barristers and lawyers for Mineralogy and Hong Kong-listed CITIC to participate in mediation before a Supreme Court registrar at the end of next week. “We all know from experience that the most unsettlable of cases have the potential to be settled,” he said 10 days into a three-week urgent hearing. He made the orders after being told that the dispute had only narrowed marginally as the result of mine expansion proposals from CITIC’s two Sino Iron operating subsidiaries finally receiving support from Mr Palmer. Mineralogy controls land around Cape Preston under a State agreement that has made Mr Palmer a royalties billionaire. CITIC says it has been forced to cut production by one-third as its current mine and waste dumps reach the end of their useful life. CITIC continues to push a damage claims over Mineralogy’s alleged failure to consider or approve the August 2023 proposals, which focused on tenements covered by deals signed from 2006 to 2008. Those proposals were narrower in scope than expansion plans lodged by CITIC and its operating subsidiaries Mineralogy in 2017. The 2017 proposals included the Sino Iron operations expanding onto tenements not covered by their original agreements. In March 2023, the Supreme Court rejected the CITIC companies aimed at forcing Mineralogy to approve the 2017 expansion plans. CITIC is awaiting a Court of Appeal decision on its appeal related on the 2017 proposals, designed to cover its right to extract 2 billion tonnes of iron ore over 25 years. The 2023 expansion plans, now before Premier Roger Cook as State Development Minister, could potentially keep the $20 billion Sino Iron project going for about a decade. Mineralogy claims CITIC and its subsidiaries have continually failed to provide the information required to consider the mine expansion proposals. Opening the Mineralogy’s defence case on Friday, barrister Peter Dunning said CITIC was obliged to provide Mineralogy with all plans for the Sino Iron project and all geological information. Mr Dunning described as “ambitious” CITIC’s claim that Mineralogy had breached its obligations to consider the August 2023 proposals. Since this action was launched by CITIC lawyers in November 2023, Mr Dunning said his team had to “return to court repeatedly” to force the Sino Iron companies to “discharge their disclosure obligations”. This included Mineralogy having to seek information needed by independent experts in this case, he said. The hearing continues on Monday.