I have purchased used crane mats to put into my horse stalls and pastures during the rainy season. They make a great feeding, shelter platform. I have also used them for portable shelter floors and about everything else you could think of around my ranch. I bought all that could be had from a local RR tie company. I was told that they were used by the RR as instant rail landings when and wherever they were needed and that the RR does not use them anymore.
I was always able to sell them whenever I wanted to horsey people. You might look into that market. In fact, since your post, I have been asking around at my new location and have received some good responses from the local ranchers and farmers. Now I can't wait for the rainy season.
Funny, I have been around them a few times and never gave them any thought as far as the timber mats. 12"X12" sounds a little big, but could be called for by the buyer I guess. I would guess that the ones I have been around were on the scale of a medium duty, with maybe 9"x9" logs and 16' long. Handy to have when you need them and always in the way when you don't.
I would ask around at a few site works/grading companies to see what they use/need or what they call the standard size. (We called them "put logs" at the company I was at, but we called scaffold planks "put logs" too). If you have the hardwood mats, build up four of them to get a feel for it and set them out front with a for sale sign on them.
A few other things come into play here. Is all of the land going to be cleared at once, leaving you with too much work at one time? Are you doing the felling? How big of a cut does your new partner think he wants? It is not always the best for money in the pocket, but for quicker turn around, selling the timber straight to a buyer or mill could make more sense if you can't find a buyer for an end product.


