According to the Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column, AMCI has been courting US and Asia-based investors to raise between $500-800 million.

“Industry sources suggest the AMCI fund will have a heavy focus on gold and copper,” the column said.

Another notable coal-linked private equity group is X2 Resources, led by former Xstrata CEO Mick Davis and former Xstrata chief financial officer Trevor Reid, which recently lifted its war chest to almost $5 billion.

In February AMCI appointed former Macarthur Coal CEO Nicole Hollows as its managing director for Australia and South East Asia.

AMCI has the majority stake of the Chain Valley underground coal mine in New South Wales, a 10% stake of the Lake Vermont open cut coal mine in Queensland, a 50% stake of the greenfield South Galilee project in this state.