[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 217 (Wednesday, November 10, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65218-65219]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24635]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-920-1320-EL, WYW151643]


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 
Antelope Tract described below in Converse 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, December 
15, 2004. Sealed bids must be submitted on or before 4 p.m., on 
Tuesday, December 14, 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 Antelope 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 just south of the Campbell/Converse County line 
south southeast of Wright, Wyoming, in northern Converse County 
approximately 2 miles east of State Highway 59 and crossed by Antelope 
Creek:

T. 40 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    Sec. 3: Lots 15-18;
    Sec. 4: Lots 5-20;
    Sec. 5: Lots 5-7, 10-15, 19, 20;
    Sec. 9: Lot 1;
    Sec. 10: Lots 3, 4;
T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    Sec. 28: Lots 9-16;
    Sec. 29: Lots 9-11, 14-16;
    Sec. 32: Lots 1-3, 6-11, 14-16;
    Sec. 33: Lots 1-16.

    Containing 2,809.13 acres, more or less.

    The tract is adjacent to Federal coal leases held by the Antelope 
Mine to the east. It is also adjacent to additional unleased Federal 
coal to the north, south and west.
    All of the acreage offered has been determined to be suitable for 
mining. However, Antelope Creek and an adjacent buffer zone are not 
expected to be mined. Other features such as pipelines can be moved to 
permit coal recovery. No producing oil and/or gas wells have been 
drilled on the tract. All of the surface estate is controlled by the 
Antelope Mine.
    The tract contains surface mineable coal reserves in the Wyodak 
seam currently being recovered in the adjacent, existing mine. In this 
area, the Wyodak seam is generally split into the Anderson and Canyon 
seams. The shallower Anderson seam ranges from about 26-34 feet thick 
and occurs over most of the LBA. It is the only mineable seam south of 
Antelope Creek. The deeper Canyon seam is mineable only north of 
Antelope Creek on the LBA. It is split on the LBA tract and ranges from 
about 12-35 feet thick for the upper split and from about 11-19 feet 
thick for the lower split. The overburden depths range from about 93-
195 feet thick north of Antelope Creek and from about 54-127 feet thick 
south of Antelope Creek on the LBA. The interburden between the 
Anderson and Canyon seams ranges from about 46-69 feet thick on the 
LBA. The interburden between the Canyon splits ranges from about 3-7 
feet thick.
    The tract contains an estimated 194,961,000 tons of mineable coal. 
This estimate of mineable reserves includes the two main seams and 
split mentioned above but does not include any tonnage from localized 
seams or splits containing less than 5 feet of coal. The total mineable 
stripping ratio (BCY/Ton) of the coal is about 3.0:1. Potential bidders 
for the LBA should consider the recovery rate expected from thick seam 
and multiple seam mining.
    The West Antelope LBA coal is ranked as subbituminous C. The 
overall average quality on an as-received basis is 8858 BTU/lb with 
about 0.23% sulfur and 1.86% 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, December 14, 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

[[Page 65219]]

the proposed coal lease are available from the BLM Wyoming State Office 
at the addresses above. Case file documents, WYW151643, are available 
for inspection at the BLM Wyoming State Office.

Melvin Schlagel,
Acting Deputy State Director, Minerals and Lands.
[FR Doc. 04-24635 Filed 11-9-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P