The South African predator, which gained a 47% stake in the mine when it bought Shell Coal’s assets for $1.5 billion in June, is all cashed up and on the prowl for further Australian acquisitions, which are considered cheap at current exchange rates.

An increased stake in German Creek would give it added capacity to serve the growing Asian market for coking coal used in steel making and thermal coal for electricity generation, and further its aim to become a major coal player in the Asian market.

Gaining access to hard coking coal in Australia is a key part of its Asian expansion strategy given that South African supplies of hard coking coal are now exhausted, International Longwall News reported.

For its part, mineral sands heavyweight Ticor makes no secret of the fact that it regards the German Creek operation as non-core. Shedding its stake in the mine has long been a question of when, not if.

Also up for sale is Ticor’s 20% stake in the Peabody Resources-operated Warkworth coal mine in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley, valued at about $60 million, and its east coast sodium cyanide assets, valued at $45 million.