NEW JAPANESE-AUSTRALIAN JV RISES FROM ASHES OF MIM.

BRISBANE, Jan 1 Asia Pulse - A new Japanese-Australian mining joint venture has risen from the ashes of Queensland miner MIM Holdings Ltd.

The new mining player is determined to capitalise on the experience gained from the drawn-out takeover battle with Xstrata Plc.

The emerging company, Gallipoli Mining Pty Ltd, is a joint venture owned by six former MIM senior executives, including chief executive Vince Gauci, in partnership with Japanese power house Nippon Mining, one of the world's biggest producers of refined copper.

The new company, which will focus on medium to large-scale projects across a range of commodities, provides a new beginning for Mr Gauci after he fought so hard at MIM to fend off the advances of the Swiss-based global mining company.

Going against the view of the independent directors of his board, Mr Gauci argued Xstrata's offer was too low at $A1.72 ($US1.28) a share, given that it was towards the bottom end of an independent expert's valuation of $1.70 to $2.24 per share.

After almost a year of sometimes acrimonious negotiating, Xstrata, which already owned 16 coal mines in NSW, finally gained control of the Queensland miner in June after shareholders approved the $4.93 billion offer.

The action doubled Xstrata's market capitalisation to .5 billion, cementing it as the world's largest exporter of thermal coal, and boosting it to become Australia's second largest coal exporter after BHP Billiton.