[Federal Register: September 24, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 185)]
[Notices]
[Page 57358-57359]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24se04-124]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY-920-1320-EL, WYW151134]
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
Roundup Tract described below in Campbell 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, October
27, 2004. Sealed bids must be submitted on or before 4 p.m., on
Tuesday, October 26, 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.
[[Page 57359]]
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 Triton Coal Company,
LLC, of Gillette, WY. The coal resources to be offered consist of all
reserves recoverable by surface mining methods in the following-
described lands located southeast of Wright, Wyoming, in southeastern
Campbell County approximately 7 miles east of State Highway 59 and 5
miles south of State Highway 450:
T. 42 N., R. 70 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming
Sec. 4: Lots 17, 18;
Sec. 5: Lots 17-20;
Sec. 6: Lots 8-23;
Sec. 7: Lots 5-14;
Sec. 8: Lots 1-12;
Sec. 9: Lots 1-8, 11-14;
T. 43 N., R. 70 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming
Sec. 31: Lots 13-20;
T. 42 N., R. 71 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming
Sec. 1: Lots 5, 6, 11-14, 19, 20.
Containing 2,812.51 acres, more or less.
The tract is crossed by the Reno County Road and by the rail spur
to the North Rochelle Mine and is adjacent to Federal coal leases held
by the North Rochelle Mine to the east and the Black Thunder Mine to
the north, and to State of Wyoming coal leases to the northwest and
southeast. The northwest State lease is controlled by the Black Thunder
Mine while the southeast State lease is controlled by the North
Antelope/Rochelle Mine. The tract is also adjacent to additional
unleased Federal coal to the south and west.
All of the acreage offered has been determined to be suitable for
mining except lands under the existing rail loop and plant facilities
serving the North Rochelle Mine. These areas are protected from
premature development by a USDA-Forest Service special use permit,
which has determined that these areas are unsuitable for mining.
However, these areas can be made suitable for mining by removing these
features and using temporary loadout facilities farther west at the end
of mine life. Other features, such as the county road, can be moved to
permit coal recovery. 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. A small portion of the surface
estate of the tract is controlled by the North Rochelle Mine but most
of the surface estate is controlled by the United States and the Black
Thunder Mine.
The tract contains surface mineable coal reserves in the Wyodak
seam currently being recovered in the adjacent, existing mines. On the
tract, the Wyodak is generally a thick seam with one thin upper split
and two thin lower splits. The lower splits are not continuous over the
LBA tract but are often merged into the main seam. The upper split is
generally present but is often too thin to recover. The main seam
ranges from about 53-79 feet thick while the splits range from about 0-
16 feet thick for the upper one and from about 0-8 and 0-5 feet thick
for each of the lower two, respectively, where they occur. The
overburden depths range from about 185-465 feet thick on the LBA. The
interburden between the upper split and the main seam is from 0-30 feet
while the lower splits are from 0-13 feet from the main seam and from
0-7 feet from each other.
The tract contains an estimated 327,186,000 tons of mineable coal.
This estimate of mineable reserves includes the main seam and splits
mentioned above, but does not include any tonnage from localized seams
or splits containing less than 5 feet of coal. The tract includes
approximately 76,355,000 tons of mineable coal under the rail spur and
plant facilities serving the North Rochelle Mine, which can be mined at
the end of mine life. It does not include either the State of Wyoming
coal in the northwest, which is expected to be recovered by the Black
Thunder Mine, or the State of Wyoming coal in the southeast, which is
not expected to be recovered at this time. The total mineable stripping
ratio (BCY/Ton) of the coal is about 4.3:1. Potential bidders for the
LBA should consider the recovery rate expected from thick seam and
multiple seam mining.
The West Roundup LBA coal is ranked as subbituminous C. The overall
average quality on an as-received basis is 8790 BTU/lb with about 0.2%
sulfur and 1.6% 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, October 26, 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 the proposed coal lease are available from the BLM
Wyoming State Office at the addresses above. Case file documents,
WYW151134, are available for inspection at the BLM Wyoming State
Office.
Dated: June 16, 2004.
Alan Rabinoff,
Deputy State Director, Minerals and Lands.
[FR Doc. 04-21403 Filed 9-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P