30 U.S.C. § 211 : US Code - Section 211: Phosphate deposits

Search 30 U.S.C. § 211 : US Code - Section 211: Phosphate deposits

(a) Authorization to lease land; terms and conditions; acreage
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to lease to any
applicant qualified under this chapter, through advertisement,
competitive bidding, or such other methods as he may by general
regulations adopt, any phosphate deposits of the United States, and
lands containing such deposits, including associated and related
minerals, when in his judgment the public interest will be best
served thereby. The lands shall be leased under such terms and
conditions as are herein specified, in units reasonably compact in
form of not to exceed two thousand five hundred and sixty acres.
(b) Prospecting permits; issuance; term; acreage; entitlement to
lease
Where prospecting or exploratory work is necessary to determine
the existence or workability of phosphate deposits in any
unclaimed, undeveloped area, the Secretary of the Interior is
authorized to issue, to any applicant qualified under this chapter,
a prospecting permit which shall give the exclusive right to
prospect for phosphate deposits, including associated minerals, for
a period of two years, for not more than two thousand five hundred
and sixty acres; and if prior to the expiration of the permit the
permittee shows to the Secretary that valuable deposits of
phosphate have been discovered within the area covered by his
permit, the permittee shall be entitled to a lease for any or all
of the land embraced in the prospecting permit.
(c) Extension of term of permit
Any phosphate permit issued under this section may be extended by
the Secretary for such an additional period, not in excess of four
years, as he deems advisable, if he finds that the permittee has
been unable, with reasonable diligence, to determine the existence
or workability of phosphate deposits in the area covered by the
permit and desires to prosecute further prospecting or exploration,
or for other reasons warranting such an extension in the opinion of
the Secretary.