[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 43 (Monday, March 6, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 12249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5379]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY-920-05-1320-01]


Notice of Competitive Coal Lease Sale

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of competitive coal lease sale (Eagle Butte Tract, 
WYW124783).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that certain coal resources in the 
Eagle Butte 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 2 p.m., Wednesday, April 5, 1995. 
Sealed bids must be submitted on or before 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 4, 
1995.

ADDRESSES: The lease sale will be held in the Third Floor Conference 
Room, Wyoming State Office (WSO), 2515 Warren Avenue, P.O. Box 1828, 
Cheyenne, WY 82003. Sealed bids must be submitted to the Cashier, WSO, 
at the address given above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Steele, Land Law Examiner, or 
Eugene Jonart, Coal Coordinator, at 307-775-6250.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This coal lease sale is being held in 
response to an application for a lease by application competitive coal 
lease sale filed by AMAX Land Company (formerly, Meadowlark Farms, 
Inc.) of Gillette, WY. The coal resources to be offered consist of all 
reserves recoverable by surface mining methods in the following 
described lands located approximately 3 miles north of Gillette, WY:

T. 51 N., R. 72 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming
    Sec. 28: Lot 13 (W2);
    Sec. 33: Lots 1 thru 4, 5 (E2), 6 thru 11, 12 (E2), and 14 thru 
16;
    Sec. 34: Lots 3 thru 6, and 9 thru 16.

    Containing 1,059.175 acres.

    The Eagle Butte Tract, located adjacent to the existing Eagle Butte 
mine, contains the Roland and Smith coal seams both of which are in the 
Fort Union Formation. The Roland seam averages about 40 ft. thick and 
the Smith seam averages about 61 ft. thick on the LBA area. The Roland 
seam is thicker in the LBA area than some adjacent portions of existing 
leases. This is due to an upper zone of the seam becoming dominantly 
coal on the LBA, whereas the same zone is an interbedded claystone and 
coal on the existing leases. Total burden on the LBA averages 217 ft. 
thick. There is a shaly coal split separating the Smith and Roland 
seems averaging about 4 ft. thick on the LBA tract. The average in-
place stripping ratio (BCY/ton) for the LBA tract is estimated to be 
1.99:1.
    The tract contains an estimated 188,500,000 tons of in-place coal 
reserves. However, about 115 acres of the tract are unavailable for 
mining because of a required buffer for U.S. Highway 14/16. The BLM 
estimates that this buffer reduces minable reserves to approximately 
166,400,000 tons.
    The coal rank is subbituminous C. Average as received quality for 
the Roland seam on the LBA is 8434 BTU/LB., 4.95% ash, and 0.54% 
sulfur. Average as received quality for the Smith seam on the LBA tract 
is 8341 BTU/LB., 4.23% ash, and 0.22% sulfur. This places the coal 
reserves in the LBA tract just slightly below average in heat content 
for coal being mined in this portion of the Power River Basin. Other 
quality parameters compare favorably with coal presently being mined in 
this area.
    The tract in this lease offering contains split estate lands. The 
surface is not held by a qualified surface owner as defined in 43 CFR 
3400.0-5.
    The tract will be leased to the qualified bidder of the highest 
cash amount provided that the high bid equals the fair market value for 
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 bid 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., 
Tuesday, April 4, 1995, will not be considered. The minimum bid is not 
intended to represent fair market value (FMV). The FMV of the tract 
will be determined by the authorized officer after the sale.
    If identical high bids are received, the tying high bidders will be 
requested to submit follow-up sealed bids until a high bid is received. 
All tie-breaking sealed bids must be submitted within 15 minutes 
following the Sale Official's announcement at the sale that identical 
high bids have been received.
    The lease issued as a result of this offering will provide for 
payment of an annual advance rental of $3.00 per acre, or fraction 
thereof, and of a royalty payment to the U.S. of 12\1/2\ percent of the 
value of coal produced by strip or augur 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 
203.250(f).
    Bidding instructions for the tract offered and the terms and 
conditions of the proposed coal lease are available from the WSO at the 
addresses above. Case file documents are available for inspection at 
the WSO.
Robert A. Bennett,
DSD, Mineral Resources.
[FR Doc. 95-5379 Filed 3-3-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-M