BHP Billiton Group and the Queensland Treasury have reached an "agreement in principle" over royalty payments of about A$329 million from coal exported from the state's Bowen Basin, The Sydney Morning Herald reported May 28.
A barrister representing BHP said "considerable progress has been made." The Queensland Supreme Court adjourned the trial until May 29.
"The parties are hopeful, I think I can say confidently, we can complete that process within the day," barrister John Sheahan said.
BHP's partner in Australia, Mitsubishi Corp., joined the mining major in a legal action to dispute the government's claim for A$329 million after the latter was included in the assessment for 2005 to 2015, which could result in tax claims around BHP's offshore trading hub growing beyond A$1.4 billion.
The company had said earlier that the dispute was primarily related to the proper basis for calculating the value of coal for royalty purposes under Queensland law.
BHP said it calculates royalties based on the first sale of the products to its marketing arm in Singapore while the state said royalties should be calculated by reference to the price at which the marketing unit sells to its customers.
