KEY POINTS
- Tahmoor Coal secured a $140m five-year loan from RRJ Capital.
- The financing will support the restart of the Australian coal mine.
- Private lenders are playing a larger role in coal financing.
Australian coking coal producer Tahmoor Coal has secured a $140 million private-credit facility from RRJ Capital to support the restart of its mining operations.
The five-year senior secured loan has been signed but had not yet been funded as of the report. Grant Samuel arranged the financing, according to people familiar with the transaction.
The private-credit facility is expected to provide Tahmoor Coal with funding needed to restart the mine after its acquisition by a consortium involving Indonesia’s Widjaja family-controlled Golden Energy and Resources and Australian miner M Resources.
People familiar with the financing said the loan was arranged through RRJ Capital, a private investment firm, although Tahmoor Coal, RRJ Capital and Grant Samuel declined to comment on the transaction.
Tahmoor Coal also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The financing comes as private-credit providers take on a larger role in funding mining and other projects that have become more difficult to finance through traditional banks.
Private credit fills funding gap
The Tahmoor financing points to the growing importance of private lenders in the coal sector as some banks reduce their exposure to fossil fuel projects because of environmental, social and governance policies.
Private-credit investors have increasingly stepped into this financing gap, particularly for large transactions that may face tighter lending conditions from conventional banks.
A notable example was Whitehaven Coal’s $1.1 billion acquisition financing in 2024. The transaction attracted 17 private-credit lenders compared with just one bank, illustrating the increasing role of alternative lenders in the coal industry.
RRJ Capital behind the loan
RRJ Capital was founded by former Goldman Sachs banker Richard Ong, who runs the firm with his brother Charles Ong.
Charles Ong previously served as chief investment officer and chief strategy officer at Temasek Holdings, Singapore’s state-owned investment company.
The firm’s involvement in the Tahmoor transaction places private capital at the centre of efforts to restart the Australian coking coal operation.
Tahmoor Coal was acquired by a consortium comprising Golden Energy and Resources and M Resources following a court-ordered liquidation process, according to a June announcement.
The acquisition created a pathway for the mine to restart and continue operating under its new ownership.
Tahmoor’s previous owner was GFG Alliance, which acquired the mine from Glencore in 2018.
The new financing is therefore linked to a broader transition in ownership and operations at the mine, with the $140 million facility providing private-credit backing for the restart programme.
