[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 18, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14482-14483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4891]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-920-1320-EL, WYW174407]


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 
South Maysdorf Coal Tract described below in Campbell County, Wyoming, 
will be reoffered 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 reoffer will be held at 10 a.m., on Tuesday, 
April 22, 2008. Sealed bids must be submitted on or before 4 p.m., on 
Monday, April 21, 2008.

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 Cordero Mining 
Company, Gillette, Wyoming. The South Maysdorf Coal Tract was 
previously offered on November 28, 2007, and the one bid received at 
that sale was rejected because it did not meet the Bureau of Land 
Management's estimate of fair market value. The coal resource to be 
offered consists of all reserves recoverable by surface mining methods 
in the following-described lands located in central Campbell County 
approximately 3-4 miles east of State Highway 59, 6-11 miles south of 
Bishop Road, and adjacent to the western and southern lease boundary of 
the Cordero Rojo mine:

T. 46 N., R. 71 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming
    Section 4: Lots 5 through 7, 10 through 15, 18 through 20;
    Section 9: Lots 1 through 5;
    Section 10: Lots 1 through 6;
    Section 11: Lots 1 through 12;
T. 47 N., R. 71 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming
    Section 21: Lots 1 through 3, 6 through 11, 14 through 16;
    Section 28: Lots 1 through 3, 6 through 11, 14 through 16;
    Section 33: Lots 1 through 3, 6 through 11, 14 through 16.

    Containing 2,900.24 acres more or less.

    The tract is adjacent to Federal and State of Wyoming leases to the 
east and north controlled by the Cordero Rojo Mine. It is adjacent to 
additional unleased Federal coal to the west and south. It is also 
adjacent to about 540 acres of private coal controlled by the Cordero 
Rojo Mine. All of the acreage offered has been determined to be 
suitable for mining except for the main line railroad right-of-way in 
the far southeast portion of the LBA. Features such as the county roads 
and pipelines can be moved to permit coal recovery. The Belle Fourche 
River crosses the LBA, but can be diverted to allow mining. 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. The surface estate of the tract is owned by Cordero 
Mining Company, Cordero Rojo, Inc., a private individual, 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 
LBA tract, the Wyodak seam is generally a single seam averaging about 
60 feet thick. An area containing no coal trends east/west across 
portions of section 4 in the southern portion of the LBA. Also, the 
southern portion of the LBA may have a rider of approximately 5-7 feet 
thick, which splits off the main seam with interburden ranging from 4-
25 feet thick. Overburden depths to the Wyodak seam range from 60-340 
feet thick on the LBA.
    The tract contains an estimated 288,082,000 tons of mineable coal. 
This estimate of mineable reserves includes the main Wyodak seam and 
rider 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 adjacent State of Wyoming or private coal although these 
reserves are expected to be recovered in conjunction with the LBA. It 
also excludes coal within and along the railroad right of way as 
required by typical mining practices. The total mineable stripping 
ratio (BCY/Ton) of the coal is about 3.5:1. Potential bidders for the 
LBA should consider the recovery rate expected from thick seam and 
multiple seam mining.
    The Maysdorf South LBA coal is ranked as subbituminous C. The 
overall average quality on an as-received basis is 8404 BTU/lb with 
about 0.29% sulfur. These quality averages place the coal reserves near 
the lower/middle 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 Monday, April 21, 2008, 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 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, 
WYW174407, are available for inspection at the BLM Wyoming State 
Office.


[[Page 14483]]


    Dated: March 6, 2008.
Larry Claypool,
Acting Deputy State Director, Minerals and Lands.
[FR Doc. E8-4891 Filed 3-17-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P