The still booming market for thermal and semi-soft coking coal has tempted one of Australia’s oldest private companies to test investor appetite for its mining and engineering interests in the NSW Hunter Valley,

It’s understood the Bloomfield Group, third generation operators of the Rix’s Creek and Bloomfield open-cut mines, which this week announced a $76 million tie-up with NSW coal junior NuCoal Resources , has appointed Merrill Lynch to explore strategic options.