| Show the beasi leasing ng ba bill 11 tho the so called coal and oil leasing MI bill has finally emerged after years of struggle from the conference committee and probably will be signed by the president before this issue of the mining review is in ni mailed ailed As finally agreed upon it does not conform with either the senate or house bill as first introduced the changes however eaf r are aie more vital to the people holding lands in m the naval reserve in california and wyoming than to other oil land claimants the bill as it now stands provides for leasing coal phosphate oil gas oil i and sodium in to citizens of the united states or any association of any such persons or any corporation organized under the laws of the united states or of any state or territory and in the case of coal oil oil shale or gas to qualified municipalities I 1 coal there are two methods of securing title 5 to coal lands the maximum amount cannot exceed 2560 acres one method is by purchase which shall be for not less than 10 per acre where situated more than alf teen miles from any completed railroad and not less than 20 per acre where ed within fifteen miles from said railroad i the sale shall be through advertisement and competitive bidding and development i work of the aggregate value of not less legs j I 1 than 8 per acre shall be done annually upon the lands for two years after which patents shall issue the other method provides for leasing i the coal land at not less than 2 cents per ton royalty and not less than 25 cents per acre as rental for the first year 50 cent ceno for the second third fourth four th and fifth years and 1 per acre for each year thereafter hiring during the lease lease to be for indenter minate periods subject to adjustments at the end of twenty years the secretary has the po power to lease at all annual advance royalty upon a minimum number of tons in lieu of the 2 cents per ton there are strong restrictions and pennies penalties to prevent parties holding more than the amount allotted either directly or indi erectly there are other provisions relative to parties getting coal from small tracts for domestic use without payment of roy alty ty and tor for the acquisition of coal landhy by municipalities phosphate phosphate lands shall he be leased in quan titles ties not ot to exceed 2560 acres the roy albies cities to be fixed by the secretary of the interior at not less than 2 per cent of gross value of output of phosphate at the mine and an all annual rental at not less than 25 i cents per P acre for the f first year 50 cents for or the second third fourth and fifth years and 1 thereafter leases are for indeterminate periods subject to adjustments ater acter terms of twenty years oil under the oil and gas provision a prospecting permit is issued good for two years upon not to exceed acres it if the land is within ten miles of any producing oil or gas well and not to exceed 2560 acres if more than ten miles from any producing oil or gas well and not within any known geo logical structure of a producing oil or gas field the shall begin drilling operations within six months from date of permit and within one year drill one or more wells to a depth of not less than feet each unless oil or gas is sooner discovered and shall within two years drill an aggregate depth of not less than 2000 feet unless oil or gas be sooner discovered for reasons good to the secretary the time may be extended to allow further testing of the land if the has used due diligence the lands shall be located in reasonably compact form whether surveyed or ansur keyed the length of which shall not exceed two and a half times its width A nion monn ment not less than four feet high shall be placed at some conspicuous place upon the land with notice in writing thereon within thirty days after posting notice the shall apply for a permit to the secretary of the interior within ninety days day after receiving the permit must musi mark the corners of the tract with substantial monuments and post a notice that per mit has been granted when deposits of valuable oil or gas have been discovered upon the land the shall be entitled to a patent for f or one fourth of the same to be selected by himself in compact form the shall also have preference right to lease the remaining part of the tract tra et at a royalty determined ter terin mined ined by competitive kidding bidding at a rate of not less than one eighth until the shall apply for patent to the one fourth of the tract lie he shall pay a royalty of 20 90 per cent of the gross value of all oil extracted from the ground or gas no wells are to be drilled within unless less the ad outer boundaries un feet of the joining lands have passed to private owner ship there are the usual provisions against waste of oil the entrance 0 of f water into the oil bearing strata etc the secretary of the interior may lease oil lands not under peri permit nit through competitive bidding in areas not exceeding than one eighth royalty acres at not less of a rental of in advance and the payment not less than 1 per acre per annum the rental to be credited against royalties for G that year leases shall be for twenty years with preferential right to renew in succeeding periods of ten years unless otherwise provided by law at the time of the expiration of such period if the validity of any gas or oil claim located under preexisting pre existing law to land embraced in the withdrawal of september 1909 has been or is hereafter drawn in question in any departmental or judicial proceedings the president is authorized at any time within twelve months after approval of this act to compromise said controversy tro versy by exchange of land or division of proceeds upon relinquishment to the united states within six months after the approval of this act of oil lands held prior to july 3rd ard 1910 embraced in the withdrawal of september 1909 and not within a naval reserve a lease may be secured upon the land upon paying one eighth royalty of all oil or gas already produced provided that no more than one half of the area ot 0 a goe logic oil structure shall be leased to one claimant under this provision when said area exceeds acres on all claims situated within naval reserves the producing wells thereon only shall be leased any person who at the time of any withdrawal or on january 1st ast 1918 was a bona fide occupant or claimant of oil or gas lands not withdrawn from entry and who has complied with all provisions under existing laws except to make dincov ery and discovery not been made prior to the passage of this act and who has performed work or spent on or for the benefit of such location an aggregate of for each location lie he shall have three months from the passage of this act in which to apply for prospecting permits on said location or if lie he has made a discovery before the passage of this act lie he shall be entitled to i t lease thereon providing the said lands are not reserved for the use of the navy provided also that desert entry men inen and homesteaders ste aders have the preference right for oil and gas leases under lands taken up by them wherein the oil and gas are reserved to the united states if said lands were taken up before before any withdrawal of said lands an and their rights still remain good this right may be exercised within one year from late date of this act and may be exercised by the assignee if the assignment was made prior to january 1st ast 1918 oil shale oil shale may be leased in tracts not ex beeding acres whether surveyed or d leases are for indeterminate periods on conditions fixed by the secretary of the interior the royalties are to be fixed by the secretary of the interior and an annual rental besides payable in a ad d vance at the rate of 50 cents per acre per annum the rental to be credited against the royalties of said year Roy royalties altes to be adjusted at the end of each twenty year period for good cause shown the secretary may waive the payment of royalty and rental during the first five years of the lease any person having a valid oil shale location under existing law on january 1st ast 1918 shall upon the relinquishment of such Ic location cation be entitled to a lease on an area net exceeding acres not more than one lease shall be granted to one person association or corporation sodium prospecting permits for two years on not to exceed 2560 acres shall be allowed on lands carrying chlorides sulphates carbonates borates silicates or nitrates of sodium soluble in water after discovery of any such mineral on said lands per mitte shall be entitled to patent for one fourth of said land the balance to be leased by the secretary of the interior under competitive peti tive bidding at such royalty as the secretary may fix and the payment in advance of a rental of 50 cents per acre for the first year and 1 per acre per annum thereafter the rental to be credited on the royalty leases are for indeterminate periods the general provisions of the bill provide for due diligence in prospecting work that no person shall hold more than one coal phosphate or sodium lease during the life of the lease and not more than three oil or gas leases in any one state and not more than one oil or gas least lease within the geological structure of a producing field no interest in other oil leases or stock in corporations holding leases outside of said lease shall be held directly or indirectly in excess of the total aggregate allowed to any one lessee no lease shall be assigned or sublet without the consent of the secretary of the interior provisions are made in the bill allowing oil leasers leaders to consolidate for the purpose of building pipe lines refineries and rail ways for the benefit of the lands leased for an eight hour law and restrictions to prevent a multiplicity of leases directly or indirectly in any one person or corporation the moni monies es derived from sales or leases under this act shall be paid into the reclamation cla mation fund and after use in reclamation work be returned into the treasury after which fifty per cent goes to the state in which said lands are situated for roads and schools that hereafter all deposits of coal phosphates sodium oil oil shale and gas shall be subject to disposition only as provided in this act except as to valid claims existing at date of passage of this act which said claims may be perfected under the laws existing when such claims were initiated A V TAYLOR secretary oil section utah chapter ot of american mining congress |
