[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 5, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56966-56967]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-28348]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[WY-920-07-1320-01]
Notice of Competitive Coal Lease Sale; Antelope Tract, WYW128322
October 24, 1996.
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior, Wyoming.
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that certain coal resources in the
Antelope Tract described below in Converse County, Wyoming, 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 2:00 p.m., on Wednesday, December
4, 1996. Sealed bids must be submitted on or before 4:00 p.m., on
Tuesday, December 3, 1996.
ADDRESSES: The lease sale will be held in the First Floor Conference
Room (Room 107) of the Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road,
P.O. Box 1828, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003. Sealed bids must be submitted
to the Cashier, Wyoming State Office, at the address given above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mavis Love, Land Law Examiner, or
Eugene Jonart, Coal Coordinator, at (307) 775-6258 and (307) 775-6257,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This coal lease sale is being held in
response to a lease by application filed by Antelope Coal Company of
Gillette, Wyoming. The coal resources to be offered consist of all
reserves recoverable by surface mining methods in the following-
described lands located in Converse County approximately 55 miles north
of Douglas, Wyoming and 60 miles south of Gillette, Wyoming:
T. 41 N., R. 70 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming
Sec. 30: Lots 15 thru 18;
T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th P.M. Wyoming
Sec. 25: Lots 5 thru 8, 13, 14;
Sec. 26: Lots 9 thru 11, 14, 15.
Containing 617.20 acres
Of the total acreage, approximately 155 acres are unsuitable for mining
due to the presence of County Road 37 and the Burlington Northern/
Chicago and Northwestern railroad right-of-way along the north side of
the eastern half of the tract.
The tract is adjacent to the Antelope Mine and contains surface
minable coal reserves in both the Anderson and the Canyon seams
currently being mined in the existing mine. The Anderson seam averages
about 40 feet thick and outcrops in the eastern half of the tract. The
deeper Canyon seam averages about 33.5 feet thick.
The overburden above the Anderson seam averages about 94 feet thick
while the overburden above the Canyon seam east of the Anderson outcrop
averages about 130 feet thick. The interburden between the two seams
averages about 31 feet thick. The total in-place stripping ratio (BCY/
ton) of the two seams varies from about .5:1 to about 4:1, but is
generally between 1:1 and 2:1 over most of the tract.
The tract contains an estimated 60,364,000 tons of minable coal
with 31,929,000 tons coming from the Anderson seam and 28,435,000 tons
coming from the Canyon seam. This estimate of minable reserves does not
include any tonnage from the 155 acres unsuitable for mining, nor does
it include tonnage from localized seams or splits containing less than
5 feet of coal. The coal in both seams is ranked as subbituminous C.
The overall average quality of the two seams averages 8779 Btu/lb.,
4.22 percent ash, 25.7 percent moisture, 1.21 percent sodium, and .23
percent sulfur. These quality averages place these coal reserves near
the top end of coal quality currently being mined in the southern
Powder River Basin.
[[Page 56967]]
The tract will be leased to the qualified bidder of the highest
cash amount provided that the high bid equals 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 4:00 p.m., on
Tuesday, December 3, 1996, 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.
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.
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 augur 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 Wyoming
State Office at the addresses above. Case file documents, WYW128322,
are available for inspection at the Wyoming State Office.
Michael J. Madrid,
Acting Deputy State Director, Minerals and Lands.
[FR Doc. 96-28348 Filed 11-4-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1320-01-M
