[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 146 (Friday, July 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45847-45848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-17455]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-920-1320-EL, WYW150210]


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 NARO 
North 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 Tuesday, August 31, 
2004. Sealed bids must be submitted on or before 4 p.m., on Monday, 
August 30, 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.

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 Powder River Coal 
Company of Gillette, WY. The coal resources to be offered consist of 
all reserves recoverable by surface mining methods in the following-
described lands located in southeastern Campbell County approximately 6 
miles east of State Highway 59, 10 miles south of State Highway 450, 
and adjacent to the Piney Canyon and Antelope County Roads:

T. 42 N., R. 70 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    Sec. 28: Lots 5-16;
    Sec. 29: Lots 5-16;
    Sec. 30: Lots 9-20;
T. 42 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    Sec. 25: Lots 5-15;
    Sec. 26: Lots 7-10;
    Sec. 35: Lots 1, 2, 7-10, 15, 16.
    Containing 2,369.38 acres, more or less.

    The tract is adjacent to Federal and State of Wyoming coal leases 
to the south held by the North Antelope Rochelle Mine. It is also 
adjacent to additional unleased Federal coal to the east, north, west, 
and southwest.
    All of the acreage offered has been determined to be suitable for 
mining. Features such as the county roads and pipelines can be moved to 
permit coal recovery. 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. The surface estate of the tract is owned by the 
North Antelope Rochelle Mine and the United States.
    The tract contains surface mineable coal reserves in the Wyodak 
seam currently being recovered in the adjacent, existing mine. On the 
tract, the Wyodak seam is generally a single seam

[[Page 45848]]

averaging about 77 feet thick. A small area in the northeast corner of 
the LBA has a split off the bottom of the main seam. This split starts 
at about 17 feet thick but thins rapidly to the east. The interburden 
increases to about 15 feet thick at the eastern edge of the LBA. The 
overburden depths range from about 290 to 365 feet thick on the LBA.
    The tract contains an estimated 324,627,000 tons of mineable coal. 
This estimate of mineable reserves includes the main Wyodak seam and 
split mentioned above but does not include any tonnage from localized 
seams or splits containing less than 5 feet of coal. It does not 
include the State of Wyoming coal although these reserves are expected 
to be recovered by the NARO mine. The total mineable stripping ratio 
(BCY/Ton) of the coal is about 3.9:1. Potential bidders for the LBA 
should consider the recovery rate expected from thick seam and multiple 
seam mining.
    The NARO North LBA coal is ranked as subbituminous C. The overall 
average quality on an as-received basis is 9090 BTU/lb with about 0.25% 
sulfur and 2.4% sodium in the ash. These quality averages place the 
coal reserves at the top 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 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 Monday, August 30, 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, 
WYW150210, are available for inspection at the BLM Wyoming State 
Office.

Alan Rabinoff,
Deputy State Director, Minerals and Lands.
[FR Doc. 04-17455 Filed 7-29-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P