As well as potentially paying out sacked workers’ entitlements, taxpayers could be forced to stump up tens of millions of dollars to clean up the site of Clive Palmer’s north Queensland refinery if the company cannot trade its way out of voluntary administration.

Queensland government sources have told the ABC that the cost of remediating the Queensland Nickel site, at Yabulu, could be anywhere from $25 million to $40 million.

Former owner BHP believed the environmental clean-up cost may exceed $100 million, while the Queensland Opposition said the clean up bill could be “upwards of $300 million”.

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Opposition environment spokesman Stephen Bennett said taxpayers were in danger of being left to foot the cost of rehabilitation if Queensland Nickel was forced to close the refinery.

Clive Palmer’s company took over the Yabulu nickel plant in 2009. Photo: AAP

Queensland Nickel called in administrators earlier this week, and the state’s Environment Department has said that it does not hold any environmental bond for the refinery site “because financial assurance is not applied to businesses of this type”.

“While the state does not hold a financial assurance bond, the company’s environmental authority contains conditions to ensure that rehabilitation is conducted in accordance with [department] guidelines,” the department told the ABC.

The department said there were also specific requirements for Queensland Nickel to rehabilitate the refinery’s huge tailings dams, which sit on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

The dams contain high levels of ammonia and other waste.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she had asked for a report on the state of the site.

“We’ve already asked the Department of Environment, which comes under Resource Management, to be looking into that matter. They are taking that as a key issue and we’ll be updated on that at Cabinet next Monday,” she said.

– ABC