Us Code § 211 - Phosphate deposits
Full text of Us Code United States Code § 211 — Phosphate deposits, with citation guidance and answers to common questions.
§ 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.
(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, §9, 41 Stat. 440; June 3, 1948, ch. 379, §2, 62 Stat. 290; Pub. L. 86–391, §1(a), Mar. 18, 1960, 74 Stat. 7.)
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1960—Pub. L. 86–391 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsecs. (b) and (c).
1948—Act June 3, 1948, included provision limiting amount of land in lease.
About This Section
30 U.S.C. § 211 is part of Title 30 of the United States Code. The United States Code is the official codification of federal statutes maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress amends the Code through new public laws, which are eventually incorporated into the relevant title.
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