State wins hand in port battle
The State Government has won the right to intervene in the long-running brawl between China’s CITIC and Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy, with the Federal Court yesterday ruling it had a direct interest in the case.
Lawyers for the Government argued it should be allowed to make submissions in the dispute because Mineralogy would risk breaching State Agreements covering the massive magnetite project if it kicked CITIC out of Cape Preston port.
The dispute centres on whether CITIC or Mineralogy owns the operating rights at the port, the only export path for CITIC’s $10 billion Sino Iron project, 100km south-west of Karratha.
Mineralogy has made multiple attempts over the past year to terminate CITIC’s right to operate the port.
Lawyers for the Attorney-General said the State Government had no interest in the commercial dispute between the two companies but wanted the right to make submissions on matters that may affect the interpretation of the State Agreement.
The Federal Court was told Mineralogy would risk being in “direct and irrevocable breach” of the 2001 State Agreement covering the Sino Iron project if it threw CITIC off the port and disrupted its “continuous operation”, required under the agreement.
Mineralogy had objected to the Attorney-General’s intervention in the dispute, arguing that any dispute with the Government over alleged breaches of the State Agreements were matters that should be litigated separately to its contract dispute with CITIC.
Justice James Edelman ruled against Mr Palmer’s company, saying the Government clearly had a direct interest in matters relating to the interpretation of the agreement.
The three-week trial over control of Cape Preston kicked off yesterday, with Mineralogy arguing CITIC had breached an agreement it would hand over control of the port once it was built.
The trial continues today.
