Queensland-based Mantle Mining holds an exploration licence to search for brown coal in a 38,000-hectare area, which includes houses, farms and the Bacchus Marsh business district.

Drilling is expected to start within two weeks.

About 60 residents and farmers were joined by Moorabool councillors and state MPs to voice their concerns at a meeting in Parwan on August 8.

Mantle Mining managing director Ian Kraemer told the meeting the first stage of the project would involve drilling 15 rigs in Parwan, Maddingley and Rowsley to investigate coal beds.

The exploration works would include five bores on Parwan South Road, six at Parwan Creek and four along Bacchus Marsh-Geelong Road.

Exploration licences mean the company can search the area but would not be able to extract anything it finds without applying for a mining licence, according to the Department of Primary Industries.

Mr Kraemer said the licence allowed Mantle to drill for coal on private property provided the landowner was compensated.

He said the licence could contain an exploration target of 1-2billion tonnes of brown coal.

Mantle hosted a similar public forum with Deans Marsh residents on July 27 about coal exploration in the Otways.

The project was scrapped in the face of a community backlash.

But Mr Kraemer said there was no way he would scuttle exploration plans in the Bacchus Marsh licence area even if the public was opposed to it.

Environment Victoria safe climate co-ordinator Victoria McKenzie-McHarg said the licence was typical of exploration and mining projects across the state that "slip under the radar" every year.

She said Mantle Mining would likely be granted a mining licence after coal beds had been identified.

"Nobody goes around spending millions of dollars drilling holes in the ground for fun. They've got an expectation that if they find something, mining permits will follow," she said.

Moorabool mayor Pat Griffin said a new coalmine could negatively affect the shire's residents, roads and environment.