Queensland Nickel owner Clive Palmer poured down an early Christmas bonanza to his 800-strong workforce by throwing not only an early holiday party over the weekend but also surprising his employees with overseas trips and a brand new Mercedes Benz for those the mining magnate regards as his top performers.

Buoyed by the 30 percent production boost of his nickel refinery in Yabulu, Palmer said that his hardworking employees gave their best since he acquired the company from BHP Billiton and the turnaround and profits it achieved this year convinced him that the rewards were much-deserved.

Up to 700 Queensland Nickel employees were set to receive international holidays for two in a five-star destination in Fiji while another 50 were given vacation incentives to Port Douglas but the best gifts were reserved for those Mr Palmer calls as the company's best performers.

Fifty-five of his top employees this year will be driving around in a freshly-minted B Class Mercedes, which is Palmer's way of thanking them for delivering to his pocket an estimated profit of $200 million for the nickel operation that only knew financial woes prior to the billionaire's acquisition in July 2009.

Since owning the nickel refinery near Townsville, Palmer instituted pay hikes that sent the workers to toil harder and bring about the impressive recovery this year, which was also matched by strengthening market price for nickel.

Such developments prompted the miner to distribute an estimated $10 million worth of gifts to his workers, which Mr Palmer described as rewards for the sterling performances that every worker turned in for the past 16 months and mostly contributed to the production surge that Queensland Nickel posted this year.

Almost threatened by closure, Palmer took over the plant's management from BHP Billiton and his ploy of better compensation packages for workers encouraged innovative ideas from the facility's employees, which in turn worked wonders for the refinery by delivering not only better output but also profit spikes and savings of up to $16 million during the first year of his ownership.