Notice2025-14721

Lease for Sale Coteau Properties Company, Freedom Mine Lease-by-Application NDM 111186, Mercer County, ND

Primary source

Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.

Published
August 4, 2025

Issuing agencies

Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau

Abstract

Notice is hereby given that Federal coal resources in lands in Mercer 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.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 147 (Monday, August 4, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 147 (Monday, August 4, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36449-36450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-14721]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[A2407-014-004-065516; #O2412-014-004-047181.1]


Lease for Sale Coteau Properties Company, Freedom Mine Lease-by-
Application NDM 111186, Mercer 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 
Mercer 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 10 a.m. Mountain Time (MT) on 
September 3, 2025.

ADDRESSES: The lease sale will be held in the Main 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: Tessa Wallace, telephone: 406-896-
5086; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#780c140f191414191b1d381a1415561f170e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2e5a42594f42424f4d4b6e4c424300494158">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. Individuals in the United States who 
are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may 
dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay 
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay 
services offered within their country to make international calls to 
the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This sale is being held in response to a 
Lease-by-Application filed by Coteau Properties Company. The Federal 
coal resources to be offered are contained in four tracts located on 
the following described lands:

Fifth Principal Meridian, North Dakota

T. 145 N., R. 86 W.,
    Sec. 2, SE1/4NW1/4, E1/2SW1/4, and SW1/4SW1/4;
    Sec. 4, lot 2, S1/2NW1/4, and SW1/4SW1/4;
    Sec. 6, lots 3 thru 5 and SE1/4NW1/4.
T. 146 N., R. 86 W.,
    Sec. 30, NE1/4SW1/4.
T. 144 N., R. 89 W.,
    Sec. 2, N1/2SW1/4, N1/2SW1/4SW1/4, SE1/4SW1/4SW1/4, SE1/4SW1/4, 
and W1/2SE1/4;
    Sec. 12, W1/2.

    The areas described aggregate 1,062.92 acres, according to the 
official plats of the surveys of the said lands, on file with the 
BLM.

    The coal in the tracts have two coal beds, which are designated as 
the Schoolhouse bed and the Beulah coal bed. Beulah coal bed and its 
associated splits of the Upper and Lower Beulah and their subordinate 
splits Upper Beulah 1 and 2, and Lower Beulah 3 and 4 are considered 
minable. The Beulah bed, or its splits, are present in all 4 lease 
tracts and ranges in thickness from 10.0 feet to approximately 14.2 
feet thick. The tracts are located adjacent to or within Coteau's 
current mining operation and contain approximately 19.0 million tons of 
coal. The composite coal quality of the Beulah coal bed and splits are 
as follows: Heat Content (Btu/lb.) 6,770 Btu/lb.; Moisture 38.11 
percent; Ash Content 6.97 percent, Sulfur Content 0.85 percent.
    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 111186 
Coal Sale--Not to be opened before 10 a.m. Mountain Time on September 
3, 2025.'' The Public Room representative will issue a receipt for each 
hand-delivered bid. Bids received after 9:30 a.m. MT 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 
$206,727.00, 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 because 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 pursuant to section 7(a) of the Mineral 
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 207(a)) as amended.
    Bidding instructions for the tracts offered and the terms and 
conditions of the proposed coal lease are included in

[[Page 36450]]

the Detailed Statement of Lease Sale, with copies available at the BLM 
Montana State Office (see ADDRESSES). Documents in case file NDM 111186 
are available for public inspection at the BLM Montana State Office 
Public Room.

(Authority: 43 CFR 3422.3-2)

Tessa L. Wallace,
Branch Chief, Solid Minerals, BLM Montana/Dakotas.
[FR Doc. 2025-14721 Filed 8-1-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-20-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on August 4, 2025.

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.