The 55-year-old South African finished up at Xstrata on Wednesday and has wasted no time plotting his highly anticipated next moves.

The Financial Times reported that Goldman would help raise billions for the fund, which would buy stakes in mining assets, citing an unnamed source involved.

Bloomberg previously said former Xstrata chief financial officer Trevor Reid, who also left when the merger was completed, would be joining Davis in his new ventures.

Davis spent 11 years at the helm of Xstrata, overseeing acquisitions like Mount Isa Mines and Falconbridge, and growing the company into one of the world’s largest mining houses.

Davis was initially meant to lead the enlarged Glencore Xstrata, but when the merger became a takeover of Xstrata, Glencore reneged and said Davis could be chief executive for six months, after which its own CEO, Ivan Glasenberg, would take over.

It emerged last month that Davis would leave when the merger was completed on May 2.

Davis is still entitled to six months of pay and entitlements equating to £4.6 million ($A7 million), in addition to the previously agreed sum of a year’s salary, 2011 bonus and other benefits and pension.

He will act as a consultant until the end of June, though will not be paid consultancy fees – instead he will be entitled to up to 30 hours of private use of an Xstrata aircraft.

Davis will take a sub-lease of Almack House, Xstrata’s former London offices, until March 15, 2017, at the same rent Xstrata pays, with a rent-free period up to the end of March next year, though he will pay the company the book value of the furniture and IT equipment at the end of the lease.

Meanwhile, the Australian Financial Review reported yesterday that former BHP Billiton aluminium, nickel and corporate development CEO Alberto Calderon was looking to set up a private equity fund to invest in Latin American mining projects.

And Bloomberg reported this week that former Barrick Gold CEO Aaron Regent, who was sacked last year, has started to invest in assets through his company Magris Resources.

Magris was reportedly one of the company’s that bid for BHP’s Pinto Valley copper asset, which was sold to Capstone Mining Corp last week for $US650 million.