Clive Palmer has slammed the Queensland government for rejecting a taxpayer-funded bail-out of his troubled nickel refinery, saying it shows “little commitment to the people of the state”.

The federal Palmer United MP and business magnate also attacked the treasurer, Curtis Pitt, for leaking a letter detailing business discussions about his requests for the $35m loan.

Pitt’s spokesman said on Sunday the government did not and would not leak the letter, and Palmer’s claim was “false and misleading”.

Pitt sent a letter to Queensland Nickel managing director – and Palmer’s nephew – Clive Mensink on Friday night, ruling out state government assistance for the Yabulu refinery.

Pitt said Queensland Nickel did not appear to be acting in good faith, and it would be irresponsible for the government to bail out the company when Palmer could do it himself, the Australian reports.

He also called on Palmer to secure the operation of the refinery, which employs nearly 800 people just north of Townsville.

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palazszcuk, said it would have set an “alarming precedent” for her government to agree to act as guarantor for Palmer’s nickel refinery.

“The government is not in the business of giving guarantees to private companies. That would set an alarming precedent with every other private investment company in Queensland,” Palazszcuk said.

Palmer hit out at the treasurer on Saturday, saying Pitt had shown a “lack of ethics and lack of commitment to the people who elected him to serve”.

Palmer had requested the government to act as a guarantor for the loan, claiming Queensland Nickel was only facing temporary cash-flow problems.

“Queensland Nickel has over $1.95bn of net assets and no debt,” Palmer said in a statement on Saturday.

“This valuation shows the treasurer that there is no asset problem and these assets would secure any guarantee by the Queensland government.”

He also criticised the government for providing support to other companies while ignoring the plight of his own.

“[Pitt] seems to think it is OK to spend $40m of taxpayers’ money to multinational Rio Tinto in respect of the Boyne Smelter at Gladstone, but offer no support to the residents of Townsville,” he added.

The self-described billionaire also accused Pitt of breaching confidentiality.

“By leaking his letter to Clive Mensink last night, Curtis Pitt has sent a message to any party wanting to invest in Queensland that he can’t be trusted and has little regard for the workers of north Queensland,” he said.

On Sunday Pitt’s spokesman said the government did not and would not leak the letter, and Palmer’s claim was “false and misleading”.

Fears Queensland Nickel could fall into imminent administration emerged earlier this week after another Palmer company, Mineralogy, lost a legal bid to have an estranged Chinese business partner pay millions in “outstanding royalty payments”.