Hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking' as it's commonly known, involves blasting a mixture of water, sand and diluted chemicals into a well to help open coal seams and increase extraction of methane gas.

Fracking has come under fire after reports it leads to the contamination of underground water.

Mantle Mining has applied to the Department of Primary Industries for an exploration licence for land surrounding Maddingley Brown Coal, including Gullines Road and along Tilleys Road.

It proposes to review previous exploration, followed by field inspection and drilling. Targets it lists include defining areas with potential for mining, coal drying, coal bed methane and underground coal gasification extraction.

The application has led to community concern about the possibility of fracking.

However, Mantle Mining managing director Ian Kramer said the company was interested only in surface coal mining.

"We are only looking at open cut coal if we get the licence," he said.

"The application is a standard template, but the coal at Bacchus Marsh doesn't have any coal bed methane. It is no good for underground coal gasification because it is not deep enough for that."

Long-time South Maddingley Road resident Bob Levy was relieved to hear there would be no fracking in the area.

"Fracking is a new technology and regulations to safeguard the environment have not caught up to it."

Mr Levy, who lives one kilometre from the area under consideration, said the community would hold the company to its promise.

"I have heard frightening things about fracking. But if the company wants to get the coal out without destroying the environment then that's fine."

Mantle Mining's latest application adds to a June request and would consolidate all remaining available areas within the known Bacchus Marsh historic coal deposit area under its control.