(Repeats story published on Saturday; no changes to text)
By Morag MacKinnon
PERTH, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The government of the Australian state of Queensland said on Saturday it has rejected a plea for assistance from Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer that he says is needed to avert the closure of his Queensland Nickel refinery.
Palmer, a billionaire businessman turned politician, called upon Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt this week requesting a bank guarantee to save the company and the jobs of almost 800 employees at the Yabulu plant, near Townsville.
In a letter emailed to Queensland Nickel chief executive Clive Mensink, who is Palmer's nephew, Pitt said it would be irresponsible for the government to be guarantor for the company given that its ultimate owner, Palmer, had resources and options available to ensure the operation of the refinery.
"It is the government's firm view that Queensland Nickel and its shareholders should take direct responsibility for resolving Queensland Nickel's current financial issues and ensuring the future of the Yabulu Refinery, without further delay," Pitt said in a statement.
The government's refusal echoed that of a ruling in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on Monday.
Judge Paul Tottle rejected a last-ditch plea from Palmer to extract a $48 million advance from China's Citic Ltd 0267.HK on disputed iron ore royalties, in a wrangle between the parties that will not be heard until 2016.
Queensland Nickel is one of Australia's biggest nickel refineries with a capacity of 35,000 tonnes a year. A slump in the price from nearly $30,000 a tonne in early 2011 to less than $9,000 a tonne amid a supply glut has put pressure on many producers of the metal.
Palmer told Reuters he was "extremely disappointed" and did not know the fate of Queensland Nickel and Yabulu workers "have been stabbed in the back by Curtis Pitt, for no good purpose".
Talks between Queensland and Palmer began in October and the government has offered a range of temporary assistance options, including the deferral of state fees and charges, Pitt said.
He called on Palmer to secure the operation of the refinery and said options, including the sale of assets, were available and Palmer had a "political, professional, business and moral obligation to support workers at Yabulu."
Palmer's lawyers told a court this week that Palmer's private company, Mineralogy, couldn't pay its legal bills and that a request for a loan for Queensland Nickel from retail banks had been rejected.
Palmer's once-burgeoning business empire that includes two coal companies, a beach resort and a plan to build a A$500 million ($360 million) replica of the Titanic in China, is in tatters.