A High Court challenge by Andrew ‘‘Twiggy’’ Forrest's Fortescue Metals to the validity of the mining tax has been dismissed, marking a setback to the resource sector’s deepseated opposition to the tax.

Even though the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) has raised negligible revenue from miners, its imposition has rankled miners who argue they already pay royalties to state governments along with income tax to the federal government.

Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest has lost the Hight Court challenge. Credit:Glenn Hunt

A liability to pay the so-called super-profits tax imposed on miners is only triggered when a miner generates an annual profit of $75 million or more, after taking various deductions into account.

The tax on iron-ore and coal profits, introduced by the Labor government, is predicted to raise $600 million in the current fiscal year, according to Treasury forecasts released last week. That’s down from the $4 billion projected by Treasury in May 2011, as slumping commodity prices on weaker Chinese demand curb mining profits.