Coal is the new gold these days as thermal prices hit record levels in Newcastle, while analysts tip a doubling of coking coal contract prices later this year.

And the offshore brigade is swooping - witness Xstrata's hostile $A1.08 billion bid for Sydney-based Resource Pacific Holdings and Vale's buyout last year of most of AMCI's Australian coal assets.

The latter deal is of vital interest to Aquila, the Perth-based group now valued at $1.7 billion.

Poli has managed to more than double the market capitalisation in 12 months, despite Aquila barely scratching the surface of its Queensland coal assets.

That's what happens when prices keep going higher, driven recently by the power blackouts in South Africa and flooding in Queensland.

Could Poli be the next mining mogul (he is one of Western Australia's richest rock kickers with an estimated wealth of $540 million) to be knocked off his pedestal by a takeover?

That was the theory aired in a recent national newspaper article, which pointed out that Aquila is the only mid-cap player with quality exposure to both coal and iron ore - the two commodities of choice at the moment.

Who could buy Aquila?

Brazil's Vale is an obvious candidate. The group paid Aquila $US45 million last quarter to complete its 51% purchase of the Belvedere coal project in Queensland.

And the global major is a partner to Aquila at a couple of other coal projects nearby.

Another possibility is AMCI, also a joint venture partner, which has 7% of Aquila, and is believed to have run the numbers before now on a takeover.

One rationale for AMCI - the Hans Mende-led private investor that teamed with Brian Gilbertson in his failed tilt at Consolidated Minerals - might be to get rid of a corporate irritant.

Aquila has been stoushing with AMCI in the courts for the better part of a year, and shows no signs of throwing in the towel - despite several defeats.

The dispute dates back to AMCI's sale in February 2007 of most of its Australian coal assets to Vale, then known as CVRD.

In order to settle the $US660 million deal, AMCI had to restructure the balance of its portfolio, with the parent entity 'carving out' the Australian Premium Iron and Belvedere coal assets into a local company, AMCI Holdings.

Aquila argues the deal triggered a change of control provision in the joint venture, giving it the right to buy the two assets from AMCI at a price determined by an independent expert.

So far, however, the legal eagles don't agree, with the latest setback occurring in the Queensland Supreme Court in December, where three judges dismissed an appeal by Aquila.

But Poli doesn't give up easily. After his legal team - lead by prominent QC Allan Myers - reviewed the reasons for the latest knock-back, Aquila decided to seek special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia.

In the next few months a panel of judges is expected to consider whether Aquila has a case to argue.

Whatever the outcome, talk that Aquila may be the next takeover morsel sounds a bit fanciful to The Metal Detective.

For one, Poli and his long-term business partner Charles Bass own nearly 50% of the company.

So any takeover move would need to be friendly, and pitched high enough to tempt the two major shareholders just as they start building production.

The company plans to be a 10 million tonnes per year coal producer inside five years, and is also eyeing a 30 million tonnes per year iron ore operation in WA's west Pilbara.

In the next month of so, expect to see Aquila and equal partner Vale approve the estimated $120 million expansion of their Isaac Plains venture.

The plan is to more than double production to 2.8Mtpa of semi-hard, PCI and thermal coal by 2010.

That will be followed in later years by the bigger Belvedere and Peak Downs East underground projects, both operated by Vale.

Whatever the truth of the takeover talk, Poli seems to have plenty of growth up his sleeve.

Presumably that is the message he is passing on to Asian fund managers this week during his Singapore stop-over on the way back from Indaba.

Poli also has a couple of able lieutenants on either side of the continent - namely former BHP Billiton executive Andrew Matheson as coal general manager and ex-Hope Downs managing director Russell Tipper on the iron ore side.

Given Aquila's bold expansion aims, those experienced rock kickers will be earning their salt in the next few years.