The agency will accept sealed bids for the block, which contains an estimated 167 million tons of mineable coal, until 4pm local time on September 17.

The tract’s competitive lease sale will be held on September 18 at 10am at BLM’s Cheyenne office.

The tract, about 12 miles north of Gillette, near US Highway 14/16, neighbors Kiewit Mining’s Buckskin operation in Campbell County.

The sale is a response to a lease application Kiewit made in 2006. If it were to win the block it would extend the life of Buckskin by about a decade.

“All of the acreage offered has been determined to be mineable, except for Collins and McGee Roads, which present a barrier due to the qualified surface owner to the west,” the BLM said.

“Reasonable costs to move features such as utilities and pipelines to allow coal recovery have been included in the economic analysis.

“In addition, coal bed natural gas wells have been drilled on the tract.”

Specifications for Hay Creek II and the record of decision for its final environmental impact statement issued in May are available on the BLM website, as well as at the agency’s Cheyenne and Casper offices.