The Titanic could finally reach New York, but this time escorted by a Chinese warship.

Billionaire Clive Palmer, a 58-year-old native of Australia’s Queensland state who made his fortune in mining, said on Monday that he has invited China’s navy to shepherd the replica “Titanic II”, the flagship of a new fleet of cruise liners that he plans to build, on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic scheduled for 2016.

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/04/30/clive-palmer’s-titanic-venture/

Brings tears of satirical laughter to my eyes... Palmer, known as "the blimp" in journalistic circles, could pull it off of course... But most of Palmer moneys are in ficticious land, I have been told by some "irreputable" financial sources... They could be so wrong... Ahhhh who to believe?...

Mining magnate Clive Palmer describes the federal budget as "fraud on the Australian people" while backing away from plans to run for parliament, saying it would bring him "only a lot of problems".

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/palmer-would-write-off-australia-20120510-1ye8d.html#ixzz1uS7cBmlK

Clive Palmer lies...... He tooted he was going to take on Wayne Swan parliamentary seat but now he shies away... We (I) knew he was going to... So why did he mention going into politics in the first place? Why did he say the Greens were paid by the CIA?... Why is "building" a replica of the Titanic... ????

It's all to "be on the news"... He's a media junkie and the media love/hate him who cares... but he hogs the space...

He takes inch columns of copy by the truck-load for nothing more than expressing inflated second rate ill-informed opinions. I believe he is on the media mainly for "publicity"... He has a portfolio of unrealised assets he hopes to offload to some rich dorks out there that are even less savvy than him......

Billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer's resources company China First has cancelled a major contract involving a coal mine planned for the Galilee Basin in central Queensland.

Mr Palmer says the decision to cancel the $40 billion deal to supply Swiss energy provider Vitol will not the affect the viability of the proposed coal mine.

China First cited commercial reasons for the decision.

It says it still has a $60 billion contract with China Power International, which remains committed to the project.

An environmental impact statement is still being prepared for the mine near Alpha, which will be linked to the coast by a 500km rail line.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-11/clive-palmers-china-first-cancels-coal-contract/4006348

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There is of course a lot of opposition to the project, especially the fact that it will destroy a chunk of Gladstone reef park .... see also here http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-07/plans-revealed-for-new-coal-export-terminal/3873514

Palmer maintains the project is still a goer but Jason West, a former investment banker who is a senior lecturer at Griffith University specialising in the energy sector, says the project is "extremely shaky".

Some 500 kilometres from the coast, the Galilee Basin is remote and the quality of the coal is not high. About $8 billion of infrastructure, including a 500 kilometre rail line and new port terminals, will be required.

Without the infrastructure, West says: ''Palmer may as well be mining on a passing asteroid.''

Palmer has repeatedly failed to raise money from investors to build the mine, including a failed attempt to float on the Hong Kong stock exchange last year. The termination of the agreement by Vitol to buy half the mine's coal is the latest blow.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/tracing-palmers-wealth--a-titanic-undertaking-20120511-1yi2w.html#ixzz1uhz4bT3i

Meanwhile, as mentioned on this site before (see comment above), the sensitive reef environment around the port of Gladstone would be put under enormous pressure...

The wealthiest woman in Australia has recently become the wealthiest woman in the world.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart's fortune has reached a net worth of $29b, thanks in part to her iron-ore company becoming a stand-out player in Australia's booming mining sector. 

As the price of iron-ore has shot up, so has Rinehart's wealth. 

Andrew Thomas reports from Australia. 

http://www.aljazeera.com/video/asia-pacific/2012/05/201252510251795451.html

see toon at top...