Clive Palmer claims to be worth $4 billion but says he won't spend the money needed to reopen his failed nickel plant if liquidators win a bid to freeze his assets.
The former federal MP says it will be "unworkable" to reopen the plant if Queensland Nickel's liquidators win a court bid to freeze more than $200 million of his assets.
If they succeed, Mr Palmer says he'll have no choice but to "enjoy the fruits" of an unrelated $350 million legal victory rather than use the cash to restart the plant.
And that would cost Townsville 2000 jobs, he says in an affidavit filed in the Queensland Supreme Court.
Liquidators have sought the asset freeze while they try to unravel what happened at Queensland Nickel before the company went belly up in 2016, with debts of $300 million and the loss of hundreds of jobs.
But Mr Palmer, who puts his personal and business wealth at about $4 billion in the affidavit, says the terms of the order will stifle him personally, and put a stranglehold on his business activities.
He says it's unreasonable for liquidators to ask that he and his business entities give seven days' notice before disposing of, dealing with, or otherwise diminishing the value of assets.
He says the refinery dealt with about 35,000 transactions a month when it was open and "it should be clear to any reasonable observer that the proposed order would make opening and operating the refinery untenable and unworkable".
"The practical effect of the proposed order will be that the refinery will not reopen while the order is in place."
Mr Palmer's many companies, including his flagship Mineralogy, would be subject to the asset freeze if the court grants it.
If that happens, he says he'll abandon further investment in the refinery and instead simply enjoy the windfall from a recent WA Supreme Court ruling that ordered his estranged Chinese business partner Citic to pay Mineralogy $350 million in iron ore royalties.
"... the grant of any orders would result in me and/or Mineralogy not investing any more funds into the refinery and just enjoying the fruits of Mineralogy judgment," Mr Palmer wrote in the affidavit.
He also outlined the many challenges an asset freeze would pose.
"The number and nature of transactions that I personally enter vary widely and is difficult for me to quantify," he said.
"Further, business opportunities that may present themselves often require swift and/or confidential action. Similar opportunities would be lost if I was required to provide seven days' notice prior to entering into a transaction."
Mr Palmer estimated that as of April 16 this year, Mineralogy would hold about $400 million in its bank account, after Citic paid up the $350 million.
Australian Associated Press
