[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 202 (Monday, October 20, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62666-62667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24920]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLES 930 000 L13200000.EL0000; WVES 50556, WVES 50560]


Notice of Competitive Coal Lease Sale, WVES 50556 and WVES 50560, 
Wayne County, WV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that certain coal resources in Wayne 
County, West Virginia, known as East Lynn Lake (ELL) Argus (WVES 50556) 
and ELL Rockspring (WVES 50560) described below will be offered for 
competitive lease by sealed bid in accordance with the provisions of 
the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended.

DATES: The lease sale will be held at 1 p.m. on December 4, 2014. 
Sealed bids must be received on or before 10 a.m. on December 4, 2014.

ADDRESSES: The lease sale will be held at the Bureau of Land Management 
office, 20 M Street SE., Washington, DC 20003, 2nd floor Conference 
Room. Sealed bids must be mailed or delivered to: BLM Eastern States 
Office, 20 M Street SE., Washington, DC 20003 Attn: Davida Carnahan, WS 
9204. Each bid should be clearly marked on the outside of the envelope 
that it is a sealed bid and clearly identify the LBA serial number 
(WVES 50560 or WVES 50556) for which it is intended.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael W Glasson, Solid Minerals 
Program Lead, at 202-912-7723; email [email protected]. Persons who use 
a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Mr. 
Glasson during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a 
day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question for Mr. Glasson. You 
will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This coal lease sale is being held in 
response to two leases by application (LBAs) received by the BLM 
Eastern States Office.
    The coal resources in the ELL Argus tract, Serial Number WVES 
50556, are being offered in response to the LBA filed by Argus Energy 
WV, LLC, and consist of all reserves recoverable by underground room 
and pillar mining methods, with first extraction only, in lands located 
in southeastern Wayne County, West Virginia. These lands lie 
approximately 1 mile south of East Lynn, West Virginia, on United 
States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE)-administered surface with BLM-
administered minerals. The sub-tracts listed below (A, B and C) are so 
named by the USACE, in dividing the lands following their acquisition:

Sub-tract A: 177M-1, 177M-14, 177M-11, 1717M, 1813M, 2321M, containing 
838.80 acres
Sub-tract B: 177M-1, 745M, 746M, 808, 840M, 843M, 846M, 1140M, 1140, 
1301, 1313M, 1330M, 1718M, 1810M, 1811M, 1813M, 2020M, 2737, containing 
5,372.20 acres
Sub-tract C: 177M-12, 177M-1, 2321M, 2430M, 2431M, containing 1,430.63 
acres

    The areas described aggregate 7,641.63 acres.
    The land in sub-tracts A, B, and C constitutes less than the entire 
tract acquired by the United States (of nearly 25,000 acres) and is 
described in accordance with 43 CFR 3471.1-1.
    Further detailed definition of the tract can be found at: http://www.blm.gov/es/st/en/prog/east_lynn_lake_coal/documents.html. It should 
be noted that prior to entering onto the lease tract for any reason, 
the successful bidder and/or eventual lessee will be responsible for a 
survey of the boundaries of this tract, to be used as the final legal 
boundary certificate for this tract. The ELL Argus tract (WVES 50556) 
has one minable coal bed known as Coalburg/Winifrede (C/W). The minable 
portions of the C/W coal bed in this area are from 3.0 feet up to 8.7 
feet in thickness. First mining only will leave coal pillars, 
structural barriers and gas well barriers behind. The ELL Argus tract 
reserve contains 15 million tons of recoverable high-volatile A and B 
bituminous coal. The estimated average coal quality range in the bed on 
an ``as received basis'' is as follows:

12,500-13,200 Btu/lb.
7.00 Percent moisture *
4.5-8.5 Percent ash
28.0-32.0 Percent volatile matter
50.0-53.0 Percent fixed carbon
0.4-0.9 Percent sulfur

    * Estimated as received moisture; also used for calculating as 
received from dry basis.
    The resources in the ELL Rockspring tract, Serial Number WVES 
50560, are being offered in response to the LBA filed by Rockspring 
Development, Inc.,

[[Page 62667]]

and consist of all coal recoverable by underground room and pillar, 
first mining only, mining methods in lands located in Wayne County, 
West Virginia. These lands lie approximately 20 miles south of 
Huntington, West Virginia, on USACE-administered surface with BLM-
administered minerals. The sub-tracts listed below (A-E) are so named 
by the USACE, in dividing the lands following their purchase:

Sub-tract A: 174M, 184M, 177M-1, 375M, 377M, 376ME-1, 376ME-2, 382M, 
545M, 554M, 390ME-1, 395M, 378M, 380M, 381M, 384M, 386M, 177M-2, 430M, 
556M, containing 1,517.00 acres
Sub-tract B: 177M-1, containing 320.00 acres
Sub-tract C: 430M, 177M-1, 177M-2, 382M, 545M, 553M, 554M, 550M, 547M, 
548M, 745M, 1450M, 1451M, 1452M, 1453M, 517A, 517B, containing 1,912.00 
acres
Sub-tract D: 177M-1, containing 72.00 acres
Sub-tract E: 177M-1, 1718M, 1717M-1, containing 1,274.00 acres
Sub-tract F: 177M-1, containing 358.00 acres
The areas described aggregate 5,453.00 acres.

    The land in sub-tracts A, B, C, D, E and F constitutes less than 
the entire tract acquired by the United States (of nearly 25,000 acres) 
and is described in accordance with 43 CFR 3471.1-1.
    Further detailed definition of the tract can be found at: http://www.blm.gov/es/st/en/prog/east_lynn_lake_coal/documents.html.
    It should be noted that prior to entering onto the lease tract for 
any reason, the successful bidder and/or eventual lessee will be 
responsible for a survey of the boundaries of this tract, to be used as 
the final legal boundary certificate for this tract. The ELL Rockspring 
tract (WVES 50560) has one minable coal bed, the C/W seam. The minable 
portions of the coal bed in this area are approximately 6 to 10 feet in 
thickness. First mining only will leave coal pillars, structural 
barriers, and gas well barriers behind. The ELL Rockspring tract 
contains approximately 11 million tons of recoverable high-volatile A 
and B bituminous coal. The coal quality in the coal bed on an ``as 
received basis'' is as follows:

12,500-13,200 Btu/lb.
7.00 Percent moisture *
4.5-8.5 Percent ash
28.0-32.0 Percent volatile matter
50.0-53.0 Percent fixed carbon
0.4-0.9 Percent sulfur

Totals do not equal 100 percent due to rounding.

    * Estimated as received moisture; also used for calculating as 
received from dry basis
    The Argus and Rockspring tracts will be leased to the qualified 
bidders with the highest cash amount, provided that the high bid meets 
or exceeds the BLM's estimate of the value for each tract. The minimum 
bid for each 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 BLM Eastern States Office Cashier will mail a receipt for each 
hand-delivered bid; each hand delivered bid will be ``date-stamped'' by 
the BLM. Bids received after 10 a.m. local time on December 4, 2014, 
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. The leases that may be issued as a 
result of this offering will provide for payment of an annual rental of 
$3 per acre, or fraction thereof, and a royalty payment to the United 
States of 8 percent of the value of the coal produced by underground 
room and pillar mining methods (the only mining method considered on 
these tracts). The value of the coal will be determined in accordance 
with 30 CFR 1206.250.
    Bidding instructions for the LBA tracts offered and the terms and 
conditions of the proposed lease sale are available from the BLM 
Eastern States Office. Any company or individual intending to bid on 
either tract must understand that the successful bidder is subject to 
the requirements of the Memorandum of Understanding between the BLM and 
the USACE signed March 15, 2012 (see detailed leasing statement). Case 
file documents, WVES 50556 and WVES 50560, and written comments 
submitted by the public on FMV or royalty rates, except those portions 
identified as proprietary by the commentator and meeting exemptions 
stated in the Freedom of Information Act, are available for inspection 
at the BLM Eastern States Office.

John F. Ruhs,
State Director, Eastern States.
[FR Doc. 2014-24920 Filed 10-17-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GJ-P