Center Township supervisors are moving toward signing a mineral rights lease with a Cranberry Township company.

The company, CX-Energy, would market township-owned land for natural resource harvesting with other energy companies. It would pay the township a fee for the lease, and then the township would earn a share of royalties for any eventual mining or drilling that occurred.

The details of such a deal are not yet decided or approved. Ron Flatt, the township's board of supervisors chairman, and Phil Wulff, a supervisor, met with company representatives Thursday. Such a meeting was authorized by the board during its most recent meeting, but specific terms of a lease would be discussed and signed in a future meeting and would then go to CX-Energy for signing.

“The goal is another revenue stream for the township so that we can continue to avoid a tax increase,” Flatt said.

The township previously was engaged in a similar lease with the now defunct Rex Energy. Rex Energy declared bankruptcy last year and was acquired by PennEnergy Resources.

That old five-year lease was signed in September of 2014.

Under that lease, Rex Energy paid about $2,500 per acre, according to township records, for about 22 acres. Flatt said a price of about $2,300 per acre had been floated in Thursday's discussion with CX-Energy, but he wasn't sure on the total acreage included.

CX-Energy was not able to immediately offer a statement on the deal Thursday afternoon, but a representative said it would have more to say soon.

The company works with landowners to form blocks of property to be drilled, according to its website. Interested companies look for large sites to conduct such operations.

Flatt said he anticipates the board will have a lease for consideration at its March 13 meeting.