Whitehaven, which already has a high performing  longwall at its Narrabri mine in New South Wales, would be willing to expand out of NSW and utilise some of its longwall expertise at the high performing Kestrel longwall.

It would more than likely have to line up against Apollo, Xcoal, BHP with its joint venture partner Mitsubishi, Glencore and Coronado Coal for the Kestrel assets, according to The Australian.

Speculation is growing that Rio Tinto is ready to offload its two remaining coal assets, Kestrel and Hail Creek, after it successfully sold its Coal & Allied Hunter Valley operations in NSW to Yancoal for US$2.45 billion. This was approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board last month..

Credit Suisse is believed to have been retained by Rio Tinto for the sale of Kestrel and Hail Creek, which are expected to be sold for $2 billion each.