[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 240 (Monday, December 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80817-80818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27413]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[212.LLMTC03200.L13200000.EM0000 MO # 4500149507]


Notice of Lease Sale BNI Coal, Ltd. Center Mine Lease-by-
Application NDM 105513, Oliver County, ND

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of coal lease sale.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Federal coal resources in lands in 
Oliver County, North Dakota, will be offered by the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) 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 10:00 a.m. Mountain Standard Time 
(MST) on January 15, 2020.

ADDRESSES: The lease sale will be held in the Main Conference Room of 
the 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. Social Distancing and limited 
seating will be applied during the sale due to COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Fesko, by telephone at 406-896-
5080, or by email at [email protected]. Persons

[[Page 80818]]

who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Mr. Fesko 
during normal business hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 
days a week, to leave a message or question. You will receive a reply 
during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This sale is being held in response to a 
Lease-by-Application filed by BNI Coal, Ltd. (BNI). The Federal coal 
resources to be offered are located on the following described lands:

Fifth Principal Meridian, North Dakota

T. 141 N., R. 83 W.,
    sec. 8, S\1/2\NE\1/4\NE\1/4\.
T. 141 N., R. 84 W.,
    sec. 14, E\1/2\NE\1/4\, S\1/2\SW\1/4\ and SE\1/4\
T. 142 N., R. 84 W.,
    sec. 20, NE\1/4\, E\1/2\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, and SE\1/
4\NE\1/4\NW\1/4\.
    The areas described aggregate 630.00 acres.

    The coal in the tracts has one or two minable coal beds, which are 
designated as the Kinneman Creek and Hagel beds. The Kinneman Creek bed 
is present only on the section 20 tract and averages approximately 6.9 
feet thick. The underlying Hagel bed is present in all three lease 
tracts and ranges in thickness from 7.1 feet to approximately 11.4 
feet. The tracts are located adjacent to BNI's current mining operation 
and contain approximately 11.21 million tons of coal. The composite 
coal quality of both coal beds is as follows:
Heat Content (Btu/lb.): 6,784 Btu/lb.
Moisture: 38.35%
Ash Content: 6.05%
Sulfur Content: 0.77%
    The tracts 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 (FMV) of the tracts. The minimum bid 
for the tract is $100 per acre or fraction thereof. The minimum bid is 
not intended to represent FMV. The authorized officer will determine if 
the bids meet FMV.
    The sealed bids should be sent by certified mail, return receipt 
requested, or be hand delivered to the Public Room, BLM Montana State 
Office (see ADDRESSES), and clearly marked ``Sealed Bid for NDM 105513 
Coal Sale--Not to be opened before 10:00 a.m. MST on January 15, 
2020.'' The Public Room representative will issue a receipt for each 
hand-delivered bid. Bids received after 9:30 a.m. MST 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 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 the BLM the cost recovery fee in the amount of 
$50,963.02, in addition to all processing costs incurred by the BLM 
after the date of this sale notice (43 CFR 3473.2(f)).
    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 tracts offered and the terms and 
conditions of the proposed coal lease are included in the Detailed 
Statement of Lease Sale, with copies available at the BLM Montana State 
Office (see ADDRESSES). Documents in case file NDM 105513 are available 
for public inspection at the BLM Montana State Office Public Room.

    Authority: 43 CFR 3422.3-2.

John J. Mehlhoff,
Montana/Dakotas State Director.
[FR Doc. 2020-27413 Filed 12-11-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P