Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer's Mineralogy Pty. Ltd. is seeking A$2.7 billion in damages from CITIC Ltd. in a suit filed in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, The Australian Financial Review reported Feb. 26.

The suit contends that the liquidation of Palmer's petroleum business may have been averted if CITIC had paid royalties from the Sino-Iron project earlier. Palmer is pursuing similar legal action against CITIC over the collapse of Queensland Nickel Inc.

According to the report, CITIC paid Mineralogy US$278 million as part of a judgment by the state Supreme Court, and the Chinese company is appealing the decision over its potential for huge royalty payments to Mineralogy over the course of Sino-Iron's life.

Palmer said the royalty payments were inaccessible at a time when they may have been employed to support his other businesses.