LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Former Glencore and Lundin

executives have set up a private mining shell company to acquire

gold, silver and copper assets in the Americas, aiming to tap

into an estimated $15 billion in available capital held by

specialist private equity firms, co-founder Christopher Kololian

said.

Kololian, formerly chief financial officer at Toronto-listed

Lundin Gold ( LUGDF ) and an ex-investment banker at RBC Capital

Markets, has joined forces with Matthew Rowlinson, who was head

of copper business development at diversified miner Glencore ( GLCNF )

, to set up Moranda Metals in Vancouver.

Booming demand for minerals seen as critical for the energy

transition has exacerbated the potential for supply shortages

after years of underinvestment in the mining sector.

"Here we are sitting with high commodity prices and at the

same time, all-time high public market investor apathy towards

the mining sector," Kololian told Reuters.

"And then we see there's approximately, if not over, $15

billion of dry powder, so readily available capital today."

The $15 billion in estimated capital includes money held by

mining private equity firms and other specialised mining

financing companies, he said.

The mining sector has seen a rise in mergers and

acquisitions (M&A) activity in recent years, partly driven by

strong commodity prices and the need to invest in new projects.

Kololian said Moranda would initially target companies with

an enterprise value between $200 million and $500 million.

He said the firm is in discussion with some that could be

interested in spinning out undervalued non-core assets, or some

whose management teams are looking for new capital to refocus

their strategy and potentially rebrand.

"There are no assets sitting there on a silver platter, but

we do see a very exciting opportunity set, especially in copper

and in gold," he added.