Chinaâs Tianqi hits back in bitter row over lithium plant
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The Western Australian Supreme Court this week gave Tianqi seven days to pay MSP Engineering about $39 million in unpaid bills and interest.
Tianqi has sought a stay on the payment order and is appealing against the related judgment amid a contractual dispute MSP says has forced it to shed hundreds of jobs.
The Tianqi lithium hydroxide plant at Kwinana built by MSP Engineering.Â
Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed Tianqi said the payment order was part of a much wider legal dispute with MSP over the hydroxide plant at Kwinana, south of Perth.
By Reuters Staff
(Adds Treasury comment, changes headline)
MELBOURNE March 11 (Reuters) - An Australian mining services contractor locked in a legal dispute with China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp over failed payments has asked the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) to examine a related sale, a company director said on Thursday.
Perth-based MSP Engineering has asked FIRB to review a part sale of Tianqi’s Australian lithium business to nickel miner IGO after Tianqi refused to pay it for constructing a battery-grade lithium processing plant in Western Australia.
This week, Western Australia’s Supreme Court ruled that Tianqi, one of the world’s biggest producers of lithium chemicals used in electric vehicle batteries, must pay A$38.9 million ($30 million) in arrears. Tianqi said it will appeal.
MSP Engineering asks the Foreign Investment Review Board to review a sale of Tianqi’s Australian lithium business to nickel miner IGO after Tianqi refused to pay it for constructing a battery-grade lithium processing plant in Western Australia.
UPDATE 2-Contractor asks Australia to review asset sale by China s Tianqi Lithium reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.