[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 173 (Thursday, September 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45276-45277]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19299]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLMT921000-15X-L51100000.GA0000-LVEME15CE410; NDM 102083; MO#
4500119938]
Competitive Coal Lease Sale, North Dakota
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of coal lease sale.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that coal resources in lands in Oliver
County, North Dakota, 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 11 a.m. Mountain Time on October
10, 2018. Sealed bids must be submitted on or before 10 a.m., October
10, 2018.
ADDRESSES: The lease sale will be held in the 920 Conference Room of
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Montana State Office, 5001
Southgate Drive, Billings, Montana 59101-4669. Sealed bids must be
submitted to the Cashier, BLM Montana State Office, at this same
address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Fesko by telephone at 406-896-
5080 or by email at [email protected]. Persons who use telecommunication
devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at
1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business
hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a
message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This sale is being held in response to a
Lease-by- Application (LBA) filed by BNI Coal, Ltd. (BNI). The Federal
coal resources to be offered are located in the following-described
lands:
T.141 N, R. 83 W, 5th P.M.
sec. 18: NE\1/4\.
The 160-acre tract, located in Oliver County, North Dakota,
contains an estimated 2.4 million tons of surface mineable Federal
coal resources. The tract contains one mineable coal bed, the Hagel
A bed. The Hagel A bed averages approximately 9.0 feet in thickness
with an average overburden thickness of 43 feet. The coal quality
for the Hagel A bed averages 6,729 BTUs per pound in heating value,
39.31 percent moisture, 5.74 percent ash, 0.76 percent sulfur, and
6.23 percent sodium-in-ash content.
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. The minimum bid is not
intended to represent fair-market value. The fair-market value will be
determined by the authorized officer after the sale.
The sealed bids should be sent by certified mail, return receipt
requested, or be hand delivered to the Cashier, BLM Montana State
Office, at the address provided in the ADDRESSES section and clearly
marked ``Sealed Bid for NDM 102083 Coal Sale--Not to be opened before
11 a.m. October 10, 2018.'' The cashier will issue a receipt for each
hand-delivered bid. Bids received after 10 a.m. will not be considered.
If identical high bids are received, the tying high bidders will be
requested to submit follow-up sealed bids until a high bid is received.
All tie-breaking sealed bids must be submitted within 15 minutes
following the sale
[[Page 45277]]
official's announcement at the sale that identical high bids have been
received. Prior to lease issuance, the high bidder, if other than the
applicant, must pay to the BLM the cost-recovery fees in the amount of
$240,321.00 in addition to all processing costs the BLM incurs after
the date of this sale notice (43 CFR 3473.2).
A lease issued as a result of this offering will require payment of
an annual rental of $3 per acre, or fraction thereof, and a royalty
payable to the United States of 12.5 percent of the value of coal mined
by surface methods. Bidding instructions for the tract offered and the
terms and conditions of the proposed coal lease are included in the
Detailed Statement of Lease Sale. Copies of the statement and the
proposed coal lease are available at the Montana State Office. Casefile
NDM 102083 is also available for public inspection at the Montana State
Office.
Authority: 43 CFR 3422.3-2
Al Nash,
Acting State Director, BLM Montana/Dakotas.
[FR Doc. 2018-19299 Filed 9-5-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P