SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian businessman Clive Palmer said on Friday the Supreme Court of Western Australia awarded his company about A$200 million ($152 million) in damages in a dispute with Chinese conglomerate CITIC <0267.HK>.
Palmer's Mineralogy claimed it is owed money by CITIC's Sino Iron mine in Western Australia over a failure to agree to a formula for calculating the value of the ore extracted at the site following a shift in pricing in the iron ore market.
A spokesman for CITIC, which has been in legal disputes with Mineralogy over royalties, told Reuters the company will "carefully review the judgement and its implication for Sino Iron."
Justice Kenneth Martin ruled that CITIC's wholly owned subsidiaries Sino Iron and Korean Steel pay Mineralogy the damages, Palmer said in a press release.
In addition to the payment for damages, CITIC is also ordered to pay Mineralogy A$200 million in royalties annually for the next 30 years, according to the statement.
A court spokesman did not immediately answer phone calls.
"This is a win for Australian law over Chinese Communist Government powerhouses who have wasted precious court time, resources and energy," Palmer said. "For too long they have used their power to try and crush Australian enterprise and thankfully today justice has been served."
CITIC warned in August it may suspend operations at its Sino Iron mine in Western Australia if it cannot resolve legal disputes with Mineralogy.
(Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
