Mick Davis turns to coal

New York
X2 Resources, the private equity fund set up by former Xstrata boss Mick Davis, is now in initial bi-lateral talks to buy some of Rio Tinto's Australian coal assets, a source close to the situation said on Tuesday.
Davis, whose X2 fund has yet to clinch its first deal, is turning his attention to Australian coal after being outbid in a race to buy a copper mine in Chile.
The mining industry veteran is also considering buying some coal mines Anglo American has put up for sale in Australia, sources close to X2 said.
X2 was not immediately available to comment. Davis set up X2 Resources in 2013 only months after commodity group Glencore took over Xstrata. His fund has raised about $5.6 billion and has six main private investors, which include commodity trader Noble Group and private equity group TPG Capital, an Abu Dhabi investment fund and a Canadian pension fund, according to sources.