The agency said following a lease by application submitted by Deserado mine operator Blue Mountain Energy, it issued the final decision to offer the 3157-acre tract up for competitive lease sale.

BLM said the parcel contained about 21 million tons of saleable coal.

The block neighbors the Deserado operation.

The decision is up for a required 30-day appeal period, after which a date will be scheduled for a sealed bid sale.

According to the agency, about 90% of Colorado’s coal deposits are located on public lands.

The state has nine active coal operations – seven underground and two surface.