[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 175 (Monday, September 10, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 47036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20777]



[[Page 47036]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-920-09-1320-EL, WYW151133]


Belle Ayr 2000 Tract, Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of competitive coal lease sale.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that certain coal resources in the 
Belle Ayr 2000 Tract described below in Campbell County, Wyoming 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., on Thursday, October 11, 
2001. Sealed bids must be submitted on or before 4 p.m., on Wednesday, 
October 10, 2001.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Weaver, Land Law Examiner, or 
Melvin Schlagel, Coal Coordinator, at 307-775-6260 and 307-775-6257, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The coal estate of the Belle Ayr 2000 tract, 
Serial Number WYW151133, is being offered in response to a lease by 
application (LBA) request for a competitive sale filed by RAG Wyoming 
Land Company, a subsidiary of RAG American Coal Company. The 
application was filed on July 28, 2000, and was approved for processing 
as a maintenance tract by the Powder River Regional Coal Team on 
October 25, 2000. The tract is located in Campbell County approximately 
11 miles south of Gillette, Wyoming, and is crossed by Bishop Road 
about 3 miles east of State Highway 59.

T.48 N., R. 71 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming
    Sec. 28: Lots 3-6;
    Sec. 29: Lots 1 and 6.
Containing 243.61 acres

    All of the acreage offered has been determined to be suitable for 
mining assuming that Bishop Road is moved as planned. The surface 
estate of the tract is completely controlled by the applicant. There 
are no oil and gas wells on the tract but these rights are privately 
owned and are not included in this coal lease.
    The tract is within the mine permit area for the Belle Ayr mine and 
contains surface mineable coal reserves in one primary seam currently 
being recovered at this mine. The in-place Wyodak seam averages about 
76 feet thick on the LBA while the overburden averages about 192 feet 
thick.
    The Belle Ayr LBA coal is ranked as subbituminous C. The overall 
average quality of the in-place reserves is 8490 BTU/lb., 30% moisture, 
4.75% ash, 0.35% sulfur, and 1.02% sodium in the ash. These quality 
averages place the coal reserves near the middle of the range of coal 
quality currently being mined in the southern Powder River Basin in 
Campbell County.
    The tract contains an estimated 31.4 million tons of mineable coal 
in the Wyodak seam. This estimate of reserves does not include any 
tonnage from localized seams or splits containing less than 5 feet of 
coal. Potential bidders must reduce this estimate to account for mining 
losses associated with thick seam recovery. The stripping ratio for the 
mineable reserves is approximately 3.0:1 (BCY/Ton).
    The tract will be leased to the qualified bidder of the highest 
cash amount provided that the high bid equals the fair market value of 
the tract and other applicable requirements are met. 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 Wednesday, October 10, 2001, 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 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, 
WYW151133, are available for inspection at the BLM, Wyoming State 
Office.

    Dated: August 1, 2001.
Alan Rabinoff,
Deputy State Director, Minerals and Lands.
[FR Doc. 01-20777 Filed 9-7-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P