Resource- and energy-focused global private equity firm Denham Capital has closed its first standalone mining fund, the Denham Mining Fund, at $558-million to expand its portfolio in Australia, Canada, South America and Africa.

“The close of our first mining fund marks a significant and strategic milestone for Denham Capital. We are pleased that our limited partners share our belief that there is a robust pipeline of opportunities across the global mining sector and that they chose to work with us,” commented Denham Capital managing partner and co-founder Carl Tricoli on Monday.

The Denham Mining Fund will continue its strategy of partnering with management teams with proven records to acquire companies and assets in the metals and minerals sectors that are close to or already in production.

The fund targets investments in base metals, metallurgical coal and industrial and specialty minerals.

The targeted investment countries represent attractive markets where the company sees jurisdictions that allow for the opportunity to secure projects that meet investment criteria.

“We seek to partner with local management teams who understand capital efficiency and can demonstrate [an] edge in accessing opportunity and execution through their superior technical experience and regional knowledge,” said Denham Mining Fund MD and partner Bert Koth.

The closing of the fund brings the amount of invested and committed capital under Denham’s management to about $9.8-billion.

The firm’s current mining portfolio includes Pembroke Resources, a Sydney-based company pursuing and developing metallurgical coal projects in the Asia-Pacific region; Auctus Minerals, a Perth-based company developing base metals assets throughout Australia; Mining Ventures Brazil, a company currently developing a heavy rare earths project in Brazil; Pangea Limited, a Johannesburg-based African mining platform targeting and developing projects in several African countries;  Santiago Metals, a Chilean mining venture developing copper mines in Chile; and Stellar Mining, a mining and exploration company in Peru.

Denham raised the mining fund capital through third-party commitments from institutional investors globally, representing leading foundations, endowments, public and private pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and family offices.