Salt Lake City-The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is now accepting bids for competitive leasing of 64 parcels on 125,762 acres of the Sevier Dry Lake in west/central Utah where known potash deposits exist (GM March 14, p. 14). BLM officials said the bids, which may be submitted by mail or in person, must be physically received by 10 a.m. April 5, and that the bid opening itself will take place at the agency’s Salt Lake City offices at 1 p.m. on that date. BLM Spokesman Mitch Snow told Green Markets that sealed bids may not be modified or withdrawn after 10 a.m. on the date of the bid opening. Snow noted as well that 20 percent of the amount, in the form of a certified cashier’s check made payable to the BLM, must accompany all bids, and cautioned that multiple bids by a single company or individual will not be allowed on any single parcel and any such bids will be disqualified. “We can’t say at this point anything about the interest or the number of bids that might be submitted,” Snow said. BLM did note, however, in its announcement of the bid opening that the Sevier Lake playa contains brines that contain potassium (K) and will be leased under the authority of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. The total potash reserves have been estimated at 5.2 million tons. The mailing address for bid submissions is Utah State BLM Office, P.O. Box 45155, Salt Lake City, Utah 84145-0155. Sealed bids may be hand-delivered to the cashier, Utah State Office, 440 W. 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, Utah.
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