Mineral Leasing Act -- Sodium

§ 251

TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING

or a claim holder subject to the election requirements of subsection (d) who maintains or elects
to maintain an unpatented claim shall maintain
such claim by complying with the general mining laws of the United States, and with the provisions of this section, except that the claim
holder shall no longer be required to perform annual labor, and instead shall pay to the Secretary $550 per claim per year for deposit as miscellaneous receipts in the general fund of the
Treasury, commencing with calendar year 1993.
Such fee shall accompany the filing made by the
claim holder with the Bureau of Land Management pursuant to section 1744(a)(2) of title 43.
(f) Reclamation
In addition to other applicable requirements,
any person who holds a limited patent or maintains a claim pursuant to this section shall be
required to carry out reclamation as prescribed
by the Secretary and to furnish a bond or other
appropriate financial guarantee in an amount
sufficient to ensure adequate reclamation of the
lands to be disturbed by any aspect of the proposed mining activities.
(g) Reaffirmation of requirements
Without comment on the adequacy of current
or former standards for determining validity of
oil shale claims, Congress reaffirms the requirements of law that a patent may issue only to
persons who hold valid claims and the need for
careful review of any applications.
(h) Issuance of patents
Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
with respect to any oil shale mining claim located under the general mining laws of the
United States, no patent for such claim shall be
issued except as provided by this section.
(Pub. L. 102–486, title XXV, § 2511, Oct. 24, 1992,
106 Stat. 3109.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
This Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 102–486,
Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 2776, known as the Energy Policy
Act of 1992. For complete classification of this Act to
the Code, see Short Title note set out under section
13201 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, and
Tables.
CODIFICATION
Section was enacted as part of the Energy Policy Act
of 1992, and not as part of act Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, 41
Stat. 437, known as the Mineral Leasing Act, which
comprises this chapter.

SUBCHAPTER VI—ALASKA OIL PROVISO
§ 251. Leases to claimants of withdrawn lands;
terms and conditions; acreage; annual rentals and royalties; fraud of claimants
Any bona fide occupant or claimant of oil or
gas bearing lands in the Territory of Alaska,
who, or whose predecessors in interest, prior to
withdrawal had complied otherwise with the requirements of the mining laws, but had made no
discovery of oil or gas in wells and who prior to
withdrawal had made substantial improvements
for the discovery of oil or gas on or for each location or had prior to February 25, 1920 expended
not less than $250 in improvements on or for
each location shall be entitled, upon relinquish-

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ment or surrender to the United States within
one year from February 25, 1920, or within six
months after final denial or withdrawal of application for patent, to a lease or leases, under this
chapter covering such lands, not exceeding five
leases in number and not exceeding an aggregate
of one thousand two hundred and eighty acres in
each: Provided, That the annual lease rentals for
lands in the Territory of Alaska not within any
known geological structure of a producing oil or
gas field and the royalty payments from production of oil or gas sold or removed from such
lands shall be identical with those prescribed for
such leases covering similar lands in the States
of the United States, except that leases which
may issue pursuant to applications or offers to
lease such lands, which applications or offers
were filed prior to and were pending on May 3,
1958, shall require the payment of 25 cents per
acre as lease rental for the first year of such
leases; but the aforesaid exception shall not
apply in any way to royalties to be required
under leases which may issue pursuant to offers
or applications filed prior to May 3, 1958.
The Secretary of the Interior shall neither
prescribe nor approve any cooperative or unit
plan of development or operation nor any operating, drilling, or development contract establishing different royalty or rental rates for Alaska lands than for similar lands within the
States of the United States.
No claimant for a lease who has been guilty of
any fraud or who had knowledge or reasonable
grounds to know of any fraud, or who has not
acted honestly and in good faith, shall be entitled to any of the benefits of this section.
(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 22, 41 Stat. 446; Pub. L.
85–505, § 10, July 3, 1958, 72 Stat. 324.)
AMENDMENTS
1958—Pub. L. 85–505 struck out provisions which related to prospecting permits, provided that the annual
lease rentals and royalty payments shall be identical
with those prescribed for leases covering similar lands
in the States of the United States, permitted a payment of 25 cents per acre as lease rental for the first
year of the lease in those leases issued pursuant to applications or offers filed prior to and pending on May 3,
1958, and prohibited the Secretary from prescribing or
approving any cooperative or unit plan of development
or operation or any operating, drilling, or development
contract establishing different royalty or rental rates
for Alaska lands than for similar lands within the
States of the United States.
ADMISSION OF ALASKA AS STATE
Admission of Alaska into the Union was accomplished Jan. 3, 1959, on issuance of Proc. No. 3269, Jan.
3, 1959, 24 F.R. 81, 73 Stat. c16, as required by sections
1 and 8(c) of Pub. L. 85–508, July 7, 1958, 72 Stat. 339, set
out as notes preceding section 21 of Title 48, Territories
and Insular Possessions.

SUBCHAPTER VII—SODIUM
§ 261. Prospecting permits; lands included; acreage
The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, under such rules and regulations as he
may prescribe, to grant to any qualified applicant a prospecting permit which shall give the
exclusive right to prospect for chlorides, sulphates, carbonates, borates, silicates, or ni-

Page 85

TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING

trates of sodium, in lands belonging to the
United States for a period of not exceeding two
years: Provided, That the area to be included in
such a permit shall not exceed two thousand five
hundred and sixty acres of land in reasonably
compact form.
(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 23, 41 Stat. 447; Dec. 11,
1928, ch. 19, 45 Stat. 1019.)
AMENDMENTS
1928—Act Dec. 11, 1928, struck out ‘‘and directed’’
after ‘‘authorized’’, ‘‘dissolved in and soluble in water,
and accumulated by concentration, in lands belonging
to the United States for a period not exceeding two
years,’’ after ‘‘nitrates of sodium’’, and last proviso
which read ‘‘Provided further, That the provisions of
this section shall not apply to lands in San Bernardino
County, California.’’

§ 262. Leases to permittees; survey of lands; royalties and annual rentals
Upon showing to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that valuable deposits of
one of the substances enumerated in section 261
of this title have been discovered by the permittee within the area covered by his permit and
that such land is chiefly valuable therefor, the
permittee shall be entitled to a lease for any or
all of the land embraced in the prospecting permit at a royalty of not less than 2 per centum
of the quantity or gross value of the output of
sodium compounds and other related products at
the point of shipment to market; the lands in
such lease to be taken in compact form by legal
subdivisions of the public land surveys or, if the
land be not surveyed, by survey executed at the
cost of the permittee in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. Lands known to contain valuable deposits
of one of the substances enumerated in section
261 of this title and not covered by permits or
leases shall be subject to lease by the Secretary
of the Interior through advertisement, competitive bidding, or such other methods as he may
by general regulations adopt and in such areas
as he shall fix, not exceeding two thousand five
hundred and sixty acres. All leases under this
section shall be conditioned upon the payment
by the lessee of such royalty as may be fixed in
the lease, not less than 2 per centum of the
quantity or gross value of the output of sodium
compounds and other related products at the
point of shipment to market, and the payment
in advance of a rental of 25 cents per acre for the
first calendar year or fraction thereof, 50 cents
per acre for the second, third, fourth, and fifth
calendar years respectively; and $1 per acre per
annum thereafter during the continuance of the
lease, such rental for any one year to be credited
against royalties accruing for that year. Leases
under this section shall be for a period of twenty
years, with preferential right in the lessee to
renew for successive periods of ten years upon
such reasonable terms and conditions as may be
prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior unless otherwise provided by law at the expiration
of such period: Provided, That nothing in this
chapter shall prohibit the mining and sale of sodium compounds under potassium leases issued
pursuant to subchapter VII [§ 141 et seq.] of chapter 3 of this title and subchapter IX of this chap-

§ 262

ter, nor the mining and sale of potassium compounds as a byproduct from sodium leases taken
under this section: Provided further, That on application by any lessee the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to modify the rental and
royalty provisions stipulated in any existing sodium lease to conform to the provisions of this
section.
(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 24, 41 Stat. 447; Dec. 11,
1928, ch. 19, 45 Stat. 1019.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Subchapter VII [§ 141 et seq.] of chapter 3 of this title,
referred to in text, was repealed by act Feb. 7, 1927, ch.
66, § 6, 44 Stat. 1058.
Subchapter IX of this chapter, referred to in text, was
in the original ‘‘act February 7, 1927 (Forty-fourth
Statutes at Large, page 1057)’’ meaning act Feb. 7, 1927,
ch. 66, 44 Stat. 1057, as amended, which enacted subchapter IX (§ 281 et seq.) of this chapter, amended sections 181 and 193 of this title, and repealed subchapter
VII (§ 141 et seq.) of chapter 3 of this title. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
AMENDMENTS
1928—Act Dec. 11, 1928, amended section generally.
SODA ASH ROYALTIES
Pub. L. 113–40, § 10(e), Oct. 2, 2013, 127 Stat. 546, provided that: ‘‘Notwithstanding section 24 of the Mineral
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 262) and the terms of any lease
under that Act [30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.], the royalty rate
on the quantity of gross value of the output of sodium
compounds and related products at the point of shipment to market from Federal land in the 2-year period
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 2,
2013] shall be 4 percent.’’
SODA ASH ROYALTY REDUCTION
Pub. L. 109–338, title I, Oct. 12, 2006, 120 Stat. 1786, provided that:
‘‘SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
‘‘This title may be cited as the ‘Soda Ash Royalty
Reduction Act of 2006’.
‘‘SEC. 102. REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATE ON SODA
ASH.
‘‘Notwithstanding section 102(a)(9) of the Federal
Land Policy [and] Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1701(a)(9)), section 24 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30
U.S.C. 262), and the terms of any lease under that Act
[30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.], the royalty rate on the quantity
or gross value of the output of sodium compounds and
related products at the point of shipment to market
from Federal land in the 5-year period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 12, 2006] shall be 2
percent.
‘‘SEC. 103. STUDY.
‘‘After the end of the 4-year period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 12, 2006], and before
the end of the 5-year period beginning on that date, the
Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress on
the effects of the royalty reduction under this title, including—
‘‘(1) the amount of sodium compounds and related
products at the point of shipment to market from
Federal land during that 4-year period;
‘‘(2) the number of jobs that have been created or
maintained during the royalty reduction period;
‘‘(3) the total amount of royalty paid to the United
States on the quantity or gross value of the output of
sodium compounds and related products at the point
of shipment to market produced during that 4-year
period, and the portion of such royalty paid to
States; and
‘‘(4) a recommendation of whether the reduced royalty rate should apply after the end of the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.’’

§ 263

TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING

§ 263. Permits to use or lease of nonmineral lands
for camp sites, and other purposes; annual
rentals; acreage
In addition to areas of such mineral land
which may be included in any such prospecting
permits or leases, the Secretary of the Interior,
in his discretion, may grant to a permittee or
lessee of lands containing sodium deposits, and
subject to the payment of an annual rental of
not less than 25 cents per acre, the exclusive
right to use, during the life of the permit or
lease, a tract of unoccupied nonmineral public
land, not exceeding forty acres in area, for camp
sites, refining works, and other purposes connected with and necessary to the proper development and use of the deposits covered by the permit or lease.
(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 25, 41 Stat. 447.)
SUBCHAPTER VIII—SULPHUR
§ 271. Prospecting permits; lands included; acreage
The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, to grant to any
qualified applicant a prospecting permit which
shall give the exclusive right to prospect for sulphur in lands belonging to the United States located in the States of Louisiana and New Mexico
for a period of not exceeding two years: Provided,
That the area to be included in such a permit
shall be not exceeding six hundred and forty
acres of land in reasonably compact form.
(Apr. 17, 1926, ch. 158, § 1, 44 Stat. 301; July 16,
1932, ch. 498, 47 Stat. 701.)

Page 86

(Apr. 17, 1926, ch. 158, § 2, 44 Stat. 301.)
CODIFICATION
Section was not enacted as part of act Feb. 25, 1920,
ch. 85, 41 Stat. 437, known as the Mineral Leasing Act,
which comprises this chapter.

§ 273. Lease of lands not covered by permits or
leases; acreage; rental
Lands known to contain valuable deposits of
sulphur and not covered by permits or leases
shall be held subject to lease by the Secretary of
the Interior through advertisement, competitive
bidding, or such other methods as he may by
general regulations adopt and in such areas as
he shall fix, not exceeding six hundred and forty
acres; all leases to be conditioned upon the payment by the lessee of such royalty as may be
fixed in the lease and the payment in advance of
a rental of 50 cents per acre per annum, the rental paid for any one year to be credited against
the royalties accruing for that year.
(Apr. 17, 1926, ch. 158, § 3, 44 Stat. 301.)
CODIFICATION
Section was not enacted as part of act Feb. 25, 1920,
ch. 85, 41 Stat. 437, known as the Mineral Leasing Act,
which comprises this chapter.

§ 274. Lands containing coal or other minerals
Prospecting permits or leases may be issued in
the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior
under the provisions of this subchapter for deposits of sulphur in public lands also containing
coal or other minerals on condition that such
other deposits be reserved to the United States
for disposal under applicable laws.
(Apr. 17, 1926, ch. 158, § 4, 44 Stat. 302.)

CODIFICATION

CODIFICATION

Section was not enacted as part of act Feb. 25, 1920,
ch. 85, 41 Stat. 437, known as the Mineral Leasing Act,
which comprises this chapter.

Section was not enacted as part of act Feb. 25, 1920,
ch. 85, 41 Stat. 437, known as the Mineral Leasing Act,
which comprises this chapter.

AMENDMENTS
1932—Act July 16, 1932, substituted ‘‘States of Louisiana and New Mexico’’ for ‘‘State of Louisiana’’.

§ 272. Leases to permittees; privileges extended
to oil and gas permittees
Upon showing to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that valuable deposits of
sulphur have been discovered by the permittee
within the area covered by his permit, and that
the land is chiefly valuable therefor, the permittee shall be entitled to a lease for any or all of
the land embraced in the prospecting permit, at
a royalty of 5 per centum of the quantity or
gross value of the output of sulphur at the point
of shipment to market, such lease to be taken in
compact form by legal subdivisions of the public-land surveys; or if the land be not surveyed,
by survey executed at the cost of the permittee
in accordance with regulations prescribed by the
Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That where
any person having been granted an oil and gas
permit makes a discovery of sulphur in lands
covered by said permit, he shall have the same
privilege of leasing not to exceed six hundred
and forty acres of said land under the same
terms and conditions as are given a sulphur permittee under the provisions of this section.

§ 275. Laws applicable
The general provisions of sections 181 to 184,
185 to 188, 189 to 192, 193, and 194 1 of this title,
are made applicable to permits and leases under
this subchapter, sections 181 and 193 of this title
being amended to include deposits of sulphur,
and section 184 of this title being amended so as
to prohibit any person, association, or corporation from taking or holding more than three sulphur permits or leases in any one State during
the life of such permits or leases.
(Apr. 17, 1926, ch. 158, § 5, 44 Stat. 302.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Section 194 of this title, referred to in text, was repealed by Pub. L. 89–554, § 8(a), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 644.
CODIFICATION
Section was not enacted as part of act Feb. 25, 1920,
ch. 85, 41 Stat. 437, known as the Mineral Leasing Act,
which comprises this chapter.

§ 276. Application of subchapter to Louisiana and
New Mexico only
The provisions of this subchapter shall apply
only to the States of Louisiana and New Mexico.
1 See

References in Text note below.