Despite directors of Clive Palmer-owned Queensland Nickel (QNI) holding crisis talks with the state government, the man himself is still missing in action.
The outspoken businessman-turned-politician has been unusually quiet since QNI last week announced 237 would be made redundant from its Yabulu refinery near Townsville.
Mr Palmer left the talking to his nephew, QNI managing director Clive Mensink, again on Monday when it was announced administrators FTI Consulting would go over the cash-strapped company's books.
Mr Mensink insists QNI will be able to trade its way out of administration.
"From our perspective it is business as usual and employees of QNI will continue productivity at this difficult time," he said in a statement.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said senior bureaucrats were holding urgent talks with QNI representatives on Monday afternoon, but Mr Palmer wouldn't be present.
When asked whether Mr Palmer should personally face the Townsville community and the 237 workers who lost their jobs, Ms Palaszczuk replied: "Absolutely".
The premier will travel to Townsville this week to meet with community leaders and discuss her plan to fast-track capital infrastructure spending in the region to tackle unemployment.
"I need to be on the ground to look at those issues first-hand," Ms Palaszczuk said.
She said she was trying to speak with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to ask him to speed up federal funding commitments made in the state's north.
The premier said the government would also be looking closely at what the administrators found at QNI.
The government last month rejected Mr Palmer's request to guarantee a $35 million loan to help the cash-strapped refinery contend with a 15-year low in nickel prices because it refused to open its books for investigation.
Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg agreed that it was not the role of the state government to provide QNI with assistance.
"I'm at one with the government with regards to that," he said.
"But what we should expect of this government is a pipeline of projects in the north, so as employment opportunities do come to an end, we do have other options available for people.
"Government has got to be an enabler; it shouldn't necessarily be interventionist, but it has to be an enabler."
AWU Queensland branch secretary Ben Swan said there was now a cloud over the remaining 550 employees at the refinery, which was Townsville's largest private employer.
"This has been a very troubling time for all workers at that site," Mr Swan told AAP.
"And for the next couple of months ... it will be a very angst-ridden time where people are concerned about their futures and their livelihoods."
Mr Palmer has not responded to AAP's repeated requests for comment.
