China's CITIC Ltd has won a case against Australian billionaire Clive Palmer confirming that it is the operator of the port of Cape Preston in Western Australia where the company exports iron ore from its loss-making US$10 billion Sino Iron project.

The battle over operation of the port is just one strand in a long-running legal fight centred on royalties CITIC owes Palmer's company Mineralogy on the project, China's biggest overseas mining investment, reported Reuters.

A Federal Court judge dismissed all of Mineralogy's claims that were aimed at terminating CITIC's facilities deeds and taking back control of Cape Preston.

"Many aspects of the termination notices are farcical," Justice Joshua Edelman was cited as saying in the judgment. He urged the parties to negotiate a settlement to all their remaining disputes so they can save millions of dollars in legal fees in cases, which have been running for two years.

"The litigation between the parties, and the associated uncertainty might last for years," Judge Edelman said.

Mineralogy plans to appeal the decision and is confident of its appeal prospects, a spokesman for Palmer said in an email.

CITIC has exported four million tonnes of magnetite concentrate since the Sino Iron project started in late 2013.