[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 185 (Friday, September 24, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57358-57359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21403]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-920-1320-EL, WYW151134]


Notice of Competitive Coal Lease Sale, Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of competitive coal lease sale.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that certain coal resources in the West 
Roundup Tract described below in Campbell County, WY, will be offered 
for competitive lease by sealed bid in accordance with the provisions 
of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).

DATES: The lease sale will be held at 10 a.m., on Wednesday, October 
27, 2004. Sealed bids must be submitted on or before 4 p.m., on 
Tuesday, October 26, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The lease sale will be held in the First Floor Conference 
Room (Room 107), of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming State 
Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, P.O. Box 1828, Cheyenne, WY 82003. 
Sealed bids must be submitted to the Cashier, BLM Wyoming State Office, 
at the address given above.

[[Page 57359]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mavis Love, Land Law Examiner, or 
Robert Janssen, Coal Coordinator, at 307-775-6258, and 307-775-6206, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This coal lease sale is being held in 
response to a lease by application (LBA) filed by Triton Coal Company, 
LLC, of Gillette, WY. The coal resources to be offered consist of all 
reserves recoverable by surface mining methods in the following-
described lands located southeast of Wright, Wyoming, in southeastern 
Campbell County approximately 7 miles east of State Highway 59 and 5 
miles south of State Highway 450:

T. 42 N., R. 70 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming
    Sec. 4: Lots 17, 18;
    Sec. 5: Lots 17-20;
    Sec. 6: Lots 8-23;
    Sec. 7: Lots 5-14;
    Sec. 8: Lots 1-12;
    Sec. 9: Lots 1-8, 11-14;
T. 43 N., R. 70 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming
    Sec. 31: Lots 13-20;
T. 42 N., R. 71 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming
    Sec. 1: Lots 5, 6, 11-14, 19, 20.

    Containing 2,812.51 acres, more or less.

    The tract is crossed by the Reno County Road and by the rail spur 
to the North Rochelle Mine and is adjacent to Federal coal leases held 
by the North Rochelle Mine to the east and the Black Thunder Mine to 
the north, and to State of Wyoming coal leases to the northwest and 
southeast. The northwest State lease is controlled by the Black Thunder 
Mine while the southeast State lease is controlled by the North 
Antelope/Rochelle Mine. The tract is also adjacent to additional 
unleased Federal coal to the south and west.
    All of the acreage offered has been determined to be suitable for 
mining except lands under the existing rail loop and plant facilities 
serving the North Rochelle Mine. These areas are protected from 
premature development by a USDA-Forest Service special use permit, 
which has determined that these areas are unsuitable for mining. 
However, these areas can be made suitable for mining by removing these 
features and using temporary loadout facilities farther west at the end 
of mine life. Other features, such as the county road, can be moved to 
permit coal recovery. In addition, numerous oil and/or gas wells have 
been drilled on the tract. The estimate of the bonus value of the coal 
lease will include consideration of the future production from these 
wells. An economic analysis of this future income stream will determine 
whether a well is bought out and plugged prior to mining or re-
established after mining is completed. A small portion of the surface 
estate of the tract is controlled by the North Rochelle Mine but most 
of the surface estate is controlled by the United States and the Black 
Thunder Mine.
    The tract contains surface mineable coal reserves in the Wyodak 
seam currently being recovered in the adjacent, existing mines. On the 
tract, the Wyodak is generally a thick seam with one thin upper split 
and two thin lower splits. The lower splits are not continuous over the 
LBA tract but are often merged into the main seam. The upper split is 
generally present but is often too thin to recover. The main seam 
ranges from about 53-79 feet thick while the splits range from about 0-
16 feet thick for the upper one and from about 0-8 and 0-5 feet thick 
for each of the lower two, respectively, where they occur. The 
overburden depths range from about 185-465 feet thick on the LBA. The 
interburden between the upper split and the main seam is from 0-30 feet 
while the lower splits are from 0-13 feet from the main seam and from 
0-7 feet from each other.
    The tract contains an estimated 327,186,000 tons of mineable coal. 
This estimate of mineable reserves includes the main seam and splits 
mentioned above, but does not include any tonnage from localized seams 
or splits containing less than 5 feet of coal. The tract includes 
approximately 76,355,000 tons of mineable coal under the rail spur and 
plant facilities serving the North Rochelle Mine, which can be mined at 
the end of mine life. It does not include either the State of Wyoming 
coal in the northwest, which is expected to be recovered by the Black 
Thunder Mine, or the State of Wyoming coal in the southeast, which is 
not expected to be recovered at this time. The total mineable stripping 
ratio (BCY/Ton) of the coal is about 4.3:1. Potential bidders for the 
LBA should consider the recovery rate expected from thick seam and 
multiple seam mining.
    The West Roundup LBA coal is ranked as subbituminous C. The overall 
average quality on an as-received basis is 8790 BTU/lb with about 0.2% 
sulfur and 1.6% sodium in the ash. These quality averages place the 
coal reserves near the high end of the range of coal quality currently 
being mined in the Wyoming portion of the Powder River Basin.
    The tract will be leased to the qualified bidder of the highest 
cash amount provided that the high bid meets or exceeds the BLM's 
estimate of the fair market value of the tract. The minimum bid for the 
tract is $100 per acre or fraction thereof. No bid that is less than 
$100 per acre, or fraction thereof, will be considered. The bids should 
be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, or be hand 
delivered. The Cashier will issue a receipt for each hand-delivered 
bid. Bids received after 4 p.m., on Tuesday, October 26, 2004, will not 
be considered. The minimum bid is not intended to represent fair market 
value. The fair market value of the tract will be determined by the 
Authorized Officer after the sale. The lease issued as a result of this 
offering will provide for payment of an annual rental of $3.00 per 
acre, or fraction thereof, and of a royalty payment to the United 
States of 12.5 percent of the value of coal produced by strip or auger 
mining methods and 8 percent of the value of the coal produced by 
underground mining methods. The value of the coal will be determined in 
accordance with 30 CFR 206.250.
    Bidding instructions for the tract offered and the terms and 
conditions of the proposed coal lease are available from the BLM 
Wyoming State Office at the addresses above. Case file documents, 
WYW151134, are available for inspection at the BLM Wyoming State 
Office.

    Dated: June 16, 2004.
Alan Rabinoff,
Deputy State Director, Minerals and Lands.
[FR Doc. 04-21403 Filed 9-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P