Citic to appeal $US150m ruling

Chinese group Citic has decided to appeal a ruling from the Supreme Court of Western Australia ordering the company to pay Clive Palmer nearly $US150 million in royalties on its Sino Iron project in the Pilbara.

Citic chief executive Chen Zeng said the ruling would have serious ramifications for the project.

“We owe it to our 2,600-strong workforce, our shareholders and the wider Western Australian community to pursue all avenues of appeal,” he said

“Different royalties are payable to Mineralogy and the state.

“It’s important that the overall royalty burden is fair and reasonable to the project and royalty recipients.”

In November, Justice Kenneth Martin found Citic was liable to pay $US149.4 million ($A184.89 million) in royalties to Mr Palmer’s company, Mineralogy.

This relates to the period from the December 2013 quarter, when local subsidiary CITIC Pacific Mining commenced production at the Sino Iron project, to the March 2017 quarter.

The judgement implies Citic is also obliged to continue paying royalties to Mr Palmer.