Mineral Leasing Act -- Sulphur

§ 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.

Page 87

TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING

(Apr. 17, 1926, ch. 158, § 6, 44 Stat. 302; July 16,
1932, ch. 498, 47 Stat. 701.)
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.
AMENDMENTS
1932—Act July 16, 1932, substituted ‘‘States of Louisiana and New Mexico’’ for ‘‘State of Louisiana’’.

§ 283

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.

§ 283. Lands containing valuable deposits not
covered by permits or leases; authority to
lease; acreage; conditions; renewals; exemptions from rentals and royalties; suspension
of operations

SUBCHAPTER IX—POTASH
§ 281. Prospecting permits for chlorides, sulphates, carbonates, borates, silicates, or nitrates of potassium; authorization; acreage;
lands affected
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 nitrates of potassium 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: Provided further, That the prospecting provisions of this subchapter shall not
apply to lands and deposits in or adjacent to
Searles Lake, California, which lands may be
leased by the Secretary of the Interior under the
terms and provisions of this subchapter.
(Feb. 7, 1927, ch. 66, § 1, 44 Stat. 1057.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
This subchapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning act Feb. 7, 1927, ch. 66, 44 Stat.
1057, as amended, which enacted this subchapter,
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.
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.

§ 282. Leases to permittees of lands showing valuable deposits; royalty
Upon showing to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that valuable deposits of
one of the substances enumerated in this subchapter has 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 potassium compounds and other related products, except sodium, 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.
(Feb. 7, 1927, ch. 66, § 2, 44 Stat. 1057.)

Lands known to contain valuable deposits
enumerated in this subchapter 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 two thousand five hundred and sixty
acres; all leases to 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 potassium compounds and other related products,
except sodium, 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 years, respectively; and
$1 per acre per annum thereafter during the continuance of the lease, such rental for any year
being credited against royalties accruing for
that year. Any lease issued under this subchapter shall be for a term of twenty years and
so long thereafter as the lessee complies with
the terms and conditions of the lease and upon
the further condition that at the end of each
twenty-year period succeeding the date of the
lease such reasonable adjustment of the terms
and conditions thereof may be made therein as
may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior unless otherwise provided by law at the expiration of such periods. Leases shall be conditioned upon a minimum annual production or
the payment of a minimum royalty in lieu
thereof, except when production is interrupted
by strikes, the elements, or casualties not attributable to the lessee. The Secretary of the Interior may permit suspension of operations
under any such leases when marketing conditions are such that the leases cannot be operated except at a loss. The Secretary upon application by the lessee prior to the expiration of
any existing lease in good standing shall amend
such lease to provide for the same tenure and to
contain the same conditions, including adjustment at the end of each twenty-year period succeeding the date of said lease, as provided for in
this subchapter. In the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior the area involved in any
lease resulting from a prospecting permit may
be exempt from any rental in excess of 25 cents
per acre for twenty years succeeding its issue,
and the production of potassium compounds
under such a lease may be exempt from any royalty in excess of the minimum prescribed in this
subchapter for the same period.
(Feb. 7, 1927, ch. 66, § 3, 44 Stat. 1057; June 3, 1948,
ch. 379, § 9, 62 Stat. 292.)