The resources sector has seen deals worth about $15 bn pulled so far this year, bankers and lawyers have told Reuters.  Resources deal volumes are currently at  A$29 bn, down 63% on the corresponding figure for 2011.

Last week, Peabody Energy Corp deferred the $500 million sale of an Australian mine after a near year-long process, sources said, joining deals worth almost $15 billion that have been pulled or delayed as weaker Chinese demand drives prices lower.

Peabody shelved the sale of its Wilkie Creek thermal-coal mine in Queensland after failing to attract a worthwhile bid, two sources with direct knowledge of the sale said, asking not to be identified because the details were confidential.

"For Peabody, it was not a do-or-die sale. When they didn't see value in the bids, they decided it is worth waiting for a while," one source said.

Vic Svec, a spokesman for St Louis-based Peabody later told Reuters: "The Wilkie Creek sales process remains under way, with discussions with interested parties continuing." He did not elaborate.

The list of scrapped resources deals looks set to grow as prices for coal, iron ore and other industrial materials hit multi-year lows and even top miners scale back on some favoured expansion projects.

The biggest casualties so far this year are the $5 billion failed privatisation of Whitehaven Coal Ltd and the $4.5 billion canned auction of New Hope Corp Ltd. Deals worth about a further $10 billion have not been launched as well, bankers and lawyers said.

Among other deals likely to join that list are Vale SA's  $500 million Integra Mine in New South Wales and BG Group PLC's  $2 billion stake sale in its Curtis liquefied natural gas project, three separate sources said, declining to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

A spokesman for Vale declined to comment on market speculation, while BG did not immediately respond to requests for comment.