"In July 2010, the two companies behind the refinery had a...

"In July 2010, the two companies behind the refinery had a combined $147m in cash, according to their audited financial statements. Over the next three years, those companies had also generated a further $207m from refinery operations. But the generation of cash has slowed dramatically - of this $207m, only $2m was generated in the last financial year, due in large part to the slump in nickel prices."

"With the refinery requiring ongoing heavy spending for maintenance as well as significant and costly upgrades to tailings dams to comply with environmental laws, there should have been a lot of cash left in the nickel companies to pay for these large expenses as well as the carbon tax, which has escalated to more than $6m, due to Palmer’s refusal to pay."

Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/clives-cash-challenge/story-e6frg6z6-1226833073680#

Only $2m was generated in the last financial year.