If the background chatter is correct Davis and the consortium he has assembled under the X2 banner is considering a big cash offer for the coal mines that BHP Billiton has in its shop window, with fire-sale tags attached.

The obvious question of why anyone would buy fire-sale coal projects at a time when the sentiment towards the product is so negative has not been asked by many people, which is in itself a pity because the answer is so obvious.

Davis, contrary to what the pessimists are saying, is a coal bull who not only believes it has a bright future but also believes that this is a perfect time to re-enter the industry that launched Xstrata because prices for quality assets are in the bargain basement and impossible for a true believer to resist.

A decade ago, Davis did exactly the same thing when he played a lead role in the launch of Xstrata, a business founded on coal at a time when no-one else in the world understood the effect of China on raw material demand.

The outcome, as they say, is history with the tiny Xstrata growing into a global giant that was eventually too tempting a target for its seed-capital provider, Glencore, which issued $US62 billion in shares to buy its baby.

Unimpressed with the finer details of the deal Davis split with his long-term colleague Ivan Glasenberg to re-start his career as the man in charge of X2.

So much for history because the game is moving rapidly through the present and getting set for a future that looks remarkably like the past, hence The Hog’s reference to lightning striking twice.

By focussing on BHP Billiton’s unloved coal assets Davis is sending several signals to the mining and wider investment world.

Firstly, he reckons that coal is at a cyclical price-bottom, something everyone else in the industry hopes is the case.

Secondly, he is demonstrating that by raising an estimated $US3.75 billion in fresh capital there are a number of well-heeled investors who agree with his belief.

Thirdly, by negotiating what is reported to be a debt package totalling $US8 billion with the big investment bank, JP Morgan, he is showing everyone that it is not just private investors who believe in coal, it is banks as well.

Fourthly, Davis is demonstrating the same confidence of a decade ago that the Chinese-driven commodity super-cycle is not dead, just resting.

If he is right, and it is hard to argue with a man who has done it before, then the coal assets of X2 will form the cash-flowing backbone of a business with the financial firepower to acquire other mining assets as they pop free from companies that have lost patience waiting for higher prices to return.

Interestingly, Davis is not alone in arguing that now is not a time to be selling assets.

Richard Goyder, the chief executive of the industrial conglomerate, Wesfarmers, reckons his company is “in coal” for the long-term – though whether that is simply because he would have to wear a loss if he sold today is another question.

The point about coal today, and the role it is likely to play in a return round for Davis at X2, is that a shake-out process is underway and, as The Hog mentioned last week, it is getting to the point where the weakest mines and heaviest loss-making companies will get squeezed out, leaving the stage clear for the low-cost leaders and mines with access to patient capital.

Being a buyer at a time when almost everyone else is a seller gives X2 a huge advantage because its cost base will be lower than most other miners and, if it can secure BHP Billiton’s coal division it will, in theory, be acquiring extremely well-maintained and profitable mines – once the cost base is factored into the accounts.

Then there is global coal demand. Will it continue to grow, or will it fall as the anti-coal crusaders claim?

Well, in Europe today there is no escaping the fact that coal is more essential than ever thanks to the Russia squeeze on gas supplies and in China there is every reason to doubt that it will be able to meet its electricity needs via a nuclear-power building program that is likely to fall short of government targets, ensuring ongoing and heavy demand for coal.

Little wonder that Davis is confident that coal will form the mainstay of X2 just as it formed the crown pillar of Xstrata.