The loan, announced in November, also includes a $3 million bank guarantee facility and a US$105 million foreign exchange facility.

There are two tranches to the loan facility, one of which is supported by a guarantee from the German government export credit agency, Hermes Kreditversicherungs.

The Hermes guarantee of about $40 million supports the funding of the imported components of the new longwall system to be supplied by the German manufacturer DBT.

NM Rothschild & Sons, ANZ and HSBC Precious Metals (Australia) will co-underwrite the loan.

Austral managing director Ugo Cario said the funding was a final step in realising the company's three-year ambition to become the pre-eminent coking coal producer in New South Wales' Southern Coalfields.

"The purchase of a state-of-the-art high capacity longwall system and wash plant upgrade together with the considerable infrastructure investment already made over the last two years, will equip Tahmoor as one of the most modern underground mines in Australia with production potential of up to 4Mtpa by 2004," he said.

Austral shares were 1c higher at 58c.