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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

BLM announces Wyoming coal lease sale Dec 14

Wednesday, 26 Oct 2011

The Bureau of Land Management has announced a competitive coal lease sale by sealed bid at 10 AM on Wednesday December 14. The South Hilight Field Coal Tract, a 1,976.69 acre area containing an estimated 222.7 million tons of mineable coal, will be offered for lease, according to the BLM website.

The BLM noted that the qualified high bidder that meets or exceeds BLM’s estimate of the fair market value of the tract will get the lease. The minimum bid for this tract is USD 100 per acre or fraction thereof. The minimum bid is not intended to represent fair market value.

This tract is being offered for sale in response to a lease by application filed by Ark Land Company, St Louis, Mo. The coal resource to be offered consists of all reserves recoverable by surface mining methods. Adjacent to the southern and western lease boundary of the Black Thunder Mine, the tract is located about 2 to 5 miles south of State Highway 450 and east of the Burlington Northern/Union Pacific main line railroad.

The South Hilight Field Coal Tract also is adjacent to federal leases to the east and north, as well as an adjacent State of Wyoming lease, all controlled by the Black Thunder Mine. It is adjacent to unleased federal coal to the west and south.

Some of the surface estate of the tract is owned by Thunder Basin Coal Co., but most of the surface is part of the Thunder Basin National Grassland managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Once a lease is issued, an annual rental payment of USD 3 per acre is required, along with a royalty payment of 12.5% of the value of coal produced by strip or auger mining methods and 8% of the value of the coal produced by underground mining methods.

Mr Don Simpson BLM Wyoming State Director said "Wyoming contributed nearly 400 million tons of coal to the nation’s domestic energy supply in 2010. Wyoming is the number one coal producer from public lands. Wyoming coal is used to generate electricity in 35 states.”

According to Wyoming’s Revenue Department estimates on 2009 production rates, in the meantime, Wyoming state legislators are looking into the rising severance tax rates on coal. While producers applaud this move, Wyoming could stand to lose millions of dollars in severance tax revenues in the future. In 2010 that revenue totalled about USD 265 million.

(sourced wyomingbusinessreport)

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