Adani, which officially opened its headquarters in Brisbane and signed off on its $750 million deal to buy Linc Energy’s Galilee Basin coal assets yesterday, would also be seeking further coal deposits in Australia, company chairman Gautam Adani told the Australian Financial Review.

Adani also reportedly ruled out purchasing a stake in Hancock Coal’s Alpha and Kevin’s Corner coal projects in Queensland’s Galilee Basin which are believed to be up for sale for up to $2 billion.

“We are discussing with Hancock, not for the coalmine but from a rail and port point of view,” Adani told the AFR.

“We will continue to discuss how to share the rail line.”

Adani’s total Galilee mine, rail and port project is expected to cost $7 billion, produce 60 million tonnes a year of thermal coal, and employ 5000 people during construction and operation.

Yet it still needs more coal to provide for the growing demands of energy and as it seeks to fulfil the capacity of newly constructed power stations.

India’s insatiable need for power means that companies like Adani – which has a combined market capitalisation of $30 billion – regard Queensland as offering strategic value.

It is prepared to develop and own a dedicated coal terminal at Dudgeon Point, near Dalrymple Bay, rather than lease out capacity at the Queensland government-owned Abbot Point.

In July, the Queensland Coordinator-General gave a preliminary “infrastructure facility of significance” approval for Hancock’s rail corridor to link to Abbot Point which is also expected to be utilised by Clive Palmer’s proposed Waratah project and Bandanna’s proposed South Galilee mine.

Hancock and BHP Billiton were named the preferred developers of the Abbot Point terminal on the coast of Queensland, and Hancock has secured an initial 30Mt of stockpile capacity with an opportunity to expand to 60Mt.