Sec. 105. Small miners leases
452 words·~2 min read·
/bill/115/hr/5753/ih/section-105A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretary may issue small miners leases to qualified small miners that apply, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, including conditions to require diligent development of the lease and to ensure protection of surface resources and groundwater. A small miners lease shall give the leaseholder the exclusive right to prospect for hardrock minerals for 3 years on up to 200 acres of contiguous or non-contiguous Federal land. The Secretary shall charge a reasonable application fee for such a lease.
Rentals for such a lease shall be $5 per acre per year for the first 3 years. Such leases may be renewed for additional 3-year periods, with no limit, with a $10 per acre per year rental charged for renewed leases. Any individual may file a challenge with the Secretary that a leaseholder is in violation of the diligence terms of a small miners lease or not qualified as a small miner. A small miners lease that is under such a challenge may not be renewed unless the Secretary has determined that the leaseholder is a small miner and is in compliance with all the terms of the lease.
No royalties shall be charged for commercial production under a small miners lease. An existing claim, as of January 1, 2017, that belongs to an individual that qualifies as a small miner may be converted to a small miners lease under the same terms and conditions that apply to other small miners leases, except that such lease— shall not be subject to rental during the primary term of the lease; shall be subject to a rental of $5 per acre per year for the first 3-year renewal of the lease; and shall be subject to a rental of $10 per acre per year for the second and subsequent 3-year renewals of the lease.
A small miners lease— may only be held by the primary leaseholder, a spouse thereof, or a direct descendent thereof; may not be sold or transferred, other than to a spouse or direct descendent of the primary leaseholder; and is subject to all permitting requirements under this Act. If the leaseholder no longer meets the definition of the term small miner in section 3 at the time a renewal is applied for because the leaseholder’s gross income exceeds the amount specified in the definition, the leaseholder shall not be eligible to renew the small miners lease, but shall be eligible for a noncompetitive hardrock mineral lease issued under section 103(c).
Notwithstanding section 103(c)(1), royalties under such a lease shall only be due on the gross income that exceeds the amount of gross income specified in such definition as of the time the hardrock mineral lease is issued.