Federal

Title 30 — Mineral Lands and Mining

626 sections, each with the official text and a plain-English explanation of what it means for you.

• § 1602 — Congressional declaration of policies
• § 1603 — Implementation of policies
• § 1604 — Program administration
• § 1605 — Applicability to other statutory national mining and minerals policies
• § 1606 — Mineral security
• § 1607 — Critical minerals supply chains and reliability
• § 161 — Entry of building-stone lands; previous law unaffected
• § 162 — Entry of saline lands; limitation
• § 1701 — Congressional statement of findings and purposes
• § 1702 — Definitions
• § 171 — Disposal as agricultural lands
• § 1711 — Duties of Secretary
• § 1712 — Duties of lessees, operators, and motor vehicle transporters
• § 1713 — Required recordkeeping
• § 1714 — Deposit of royalty funds to Indian accounts
• § 1715 — Explanation of payments
• § 1716 — Liabilities and bonding
• § 1717 — Hearings and investigations
• § 1718 — Inspections
• § 1719 — Civil penalties
• § 172 — Certain Alabama lands subject to homestead entry
• § 1720 — Criminal penalties
• § 1720a — Applicability of civil and criminal penalties to various uses of Federal or Indian lands and Outer Continental Shelf
• § 1721 — Royalty terms and conditions, interest, and penalties
• § 1721a — Adjustments and refunds
• § 1722 — Injunction and specific enforcement authority
• § 1723 — Rewards
• § 1724 — Secretarial and delegated States’ actions and limitation periods
• § 1725 — Assessments
• § 1726 — Alternatives for marginal properties
• § 1727 — Repealed. Pub. L. 119–21, title V, § 50103 , July 4, 2025 , 139 Stat. 142
• § 1731 — Application of subchapter
• § 1731a — Application of subchapter to leases of lands within three miles of seaward boundaries of coastal States
• § 1732 — Cooperative agreements
• § 1733 — Information
• § 1734 — State suits under Federal law
• § 1735 — Delegation of royalty collections and related activities
• § 1736 — Shared civil penalties
• § 1751 — Secretarial authority
• § 1752 — Reports
• § 1753 — Relation to other laws
• § 1754 — Funding
• § 1755 — Statute of limitations
• § 1756 — Expanded royalty obligations
• § 1757 — Severability
• § 1758 — Use of royalty-in-kind revenue by Minerals Management Service
• § 1759 — Fees and charges
• § 1801 to 1811 — Repealed. Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title VII, § 7002(n)(1) , Dec. 27, 2020 , 134 Stat. 2576
• § 181 — Lands subject to disposition; persons entitled to benefits; reciprocal privileges; helium rights reserved
• § 182 — Lands disposed of with reservation of deposits of coal, etc.
• § 183 — Cancellation of prospecting permits
• § 184 — Limitations on leases held, owned or controlled by persons, associations or corporations
• § 184a — Authorization of States to include in agreements for conservation of oil and gas resources lands acquired from United States
• § 185 — Rights-of-way for pipelines through Federal lands
• § 186 — Reservation of easements or rights-of-way for working purposes; reservation of right to dispose of surface of lands; determination before offering of lease; easement periods
• § 187 — Assignment or subletting of leases; relinquishment of rights under leases; conditions in leases for protection of diverse interests in operation of mines, wells, etc.; State laws not impaired
• § 187a — Oil or gas leases; partial assignments
• § 187b — Oil or gas leases; written relinquishment of rights; release of obligations
• § 188 — Failure to comply with provisions of lease
• § 188a — Surrender of leases
• § 189 — Rules and regulations; boundary lines; State rights unaffected; taxation
• § 190 — Oath; requirement; form; blanks
• § 1901 — Definitions
• § 1902 — Research program
• § 1903 — Grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements
• § 1904 — Marine mineral research centers
• § 1905 — Authorization of appropriations
• § 191 — Disposition of moneys received
• § 191a — Late payment charges under Federal mineral leases
• § 191b — Collection of unpaid and underpaid royalties and late payment interest owed by lessees
• § 192 — Payment of royalties in oil or gas; sale of such oil or gas
• § 192a — Cancellation or modification of contracts
• § 192b — Application to contracts
• § 192c — Rules and regulations governing issuance of certain leases; disposition of receipts
• § 193 — Disposition of deposits of coal, and so forth
• § 193a — Preference right of United States to purchase coal for Army and Navy; price for coal; civil actions; jurisdiction
• § 194 — Repealed. Pub. L. 89–554, § 8(a) , Sept. 6, 1966 , 80 Stat. 644
• § 195 — Enforcement
• § 196 — Cooperative agreements; delegation of authority
• § 1a — Transfer of activities, employees, records, etc., from Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce to the United States Bureau of Mines
• § 2 — Performance of duties in absence of director
• § 2001 — Findings
• § 2002 — Definitions
• § 2003 — Methane hydrate research and development program
• § 2004 — National Research Council study
• § 2005 — Reports and studies for Congress
• § 2006 — Authorization of appropriations
• § 201 — Leases and exploration
• § 201–1 — Repealed. Pub. L. 94–377, § 5(a) , Aug. 4, 1976 , 90 Stat. 1086
• § 201a — Repealed. June 3, 1948, ch. 379, § 8 , 62 Stat. 291
• § 201b — Omitted
• § 202 — Common carriers; limitations of lease or permit
• § 202a — Consolidation of coal leases into logical mining unit
• § 203 — Additional lands or deposits
• § 204 — Repealed. Pub. L. 94–377, § 13(a) , Aug. 4, 1976 , 90 Stat. 1090
• § 205 — Consolidation of leases
• § 206 — Noncontiguous coal or phosphate tracts in single lease
• § 207 — Conditions of lease
• § 208 — Permits to take coal for local domestic needs without royalty payments; corporation exclusion; area to municipalities for household use without profit
• § 208–1 — Exploratory program for evaluation of known recoverable coal resources
• § 208–2 — Repealed. Pub. L. 104–66, title I, § 1091(e) , Dec. 21, 1995 , 109 Stat. 722
• § 208a — Repealed. Pub. L. 97–468, title VI, § 615(a)(3) , Jan. 14, 1983 , 96 Stat. 2578
• § 209 — Suspension, waiver, or reduction of rents or royalties to promote development or operation; extension of lease on suspension of operations and production
• § 21 — Mineral lands reserved
• § 211 — Phosphate deposits
• § 212 — Surveys; royalties; time payable; annual rentals; term of leases; readjustment on renewals; minimum production; suspension of operation
• § 213 — Royalties for use of deposits of silica, limestone, or other rock embraced in lease
• § 214 — Use of surface of other public lands; acreage; forest lands exception
• § 21a — National mining and minerals policy; “minerals” defined; execution of policy under other authorized programs
• § 22 — Lands open to purchase by citizens
• § 221 to 222i — Omitted
• § 223 — Leases; amount and survey of land; term of lease; royalties and annual rental
• § 223a — Repealed. Aug. 8, 1946, ch. 916, § 14 , 60 Stat. 958
• § 224 — Payments for oil or gas taken prior to application for lease
• § 225 — Condition of lease, forfeiture for violation
• § 226 — Leasing of oil and gas parcels
• § 226–1 — Extension of noncompetitive oil or gas lease issued before September 2, 1960
• § 226–2 — Limitations for filing oil and gas contests
• § 226–3 — Lands not subject to oil and gas leasing
• § 226a, 226b — Repealed. Aug. 8, 1946, ch. 916, § 14 , 60 Stat. 958
• § 226c — Reduction of royalties under existing leases
• § 226d, 226e — Omitted
• § 227 — Omitted
• § 228 — Prospecting permits and leases to persons of lands not withdrawn; terms and conditions of; fraud of claimants
• § 229 — Preference right to permits or leases of claimants of lands bona fide entered as agricultural land; terms and conditions
• § 229a — Water struck while drilling for oil and gas
• § 23 — Length of claims on veins or lodes
• § 230 to 233 — Repealed. June 22, 1948, ch. 605, § 3 , 62 Stat. 576
• § 233a — Permits or leases of certain lands in Okla­homa; retention of royalties
• § 234 to 236 — Repealed. June 22, 1948, ch. 605, § 3 , 62 Stat. 576
• § 236a — Lands in naval petroleum reserves and naval oil-shale reserves; effect of other laws
• § 236b — Existing leases within naval petroleum reserves not affected
• § 237 — Omitted
• § 24 — Proof of citizenship
• § 241 — Leases of lands
• § 242 — Oil shale claims
• § 25 — Affidavit of citizenship
• § 251 — Leases to claimants of withdrawn lands; terms and conditions; acreage; annual rentals and royalties; fraud of claimants
• § 26 — Locators’ rights of possession and enjoyment
• § 261 — Prospecting permits; lands included; acreage
• § 262 — Leases to permittees; survey of lands; royalties and annual rentals
• § 263 — Permits to use or lease of nonmineral lands for camp sites, and other purposes; annual rentals; acreage
• § 27 — Mining tunnels; right to possession of veins on line with; abandonment of right
• § 271 — Prospecting permits; lands included; acreage
• § 272 — Leases to permittees; privileges extended to oil and gas permittees
• § 273 — Lease of lands not covered by permits or leases; acreage; rental
• § 274 — Lands containing coal or other minerals
• § 275 — Laws applicable
• § 276 — Application of subchapter to Louisiana and New Mexico only
• § 28 — Mining district regulations by miners: location, recordation, and amount of work; marking of location on ground; records; annual labor or improvements on claims pending issue of patent; co-owner’s succession in interest upon delinquency in contributing proportion of expenditures; tunnel as lode expenditure
• § 28–1 — Inclusion of certain surveys in labor requirements of mining claims; conditions and restrictions
• § 28–2 — Definitions
• § 281 — Prospecting permits for chlorides, sulphates, carbonates, borates, silicates, or nitrates of potassium; authorization; acreage; lands affected
• § 282 — Leases to permittees of lands showing valuable deposits; royalty
• § 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
• § 284 — Lands containing coal or other minerals in addition to potassium deposits; issuance of prospecting permits and leases; covenants in potassium leases
• § 285 — Laws applicable
• § 286 — Disposition of royalties and rents from potassium leases
• § 287 — Extension of prospecting permits
• § 28a — Omitted
• § 28b — Annual assessment work on mining claims; temporary deferment; conditions
• § 28c — Length and termination of deferment
• § 28d — Performance of deferred work
• § 28e — Recordation of deferment
• § 28f — Fee
• § 28g — Location fee
• § 28h — Co-ownership
• § 28i — Failure to pay
• § 28j — Other requirements
• § 28k — Regulations
• § 28l — Collection of mining law administration fees
• § 29 — Patents; procurement procedure; filing: application under oath, plat and field notes, notices, and affidavits; posting plat and notice on claim; publication and posting notice in office; certificate; adverse claims; payment per acre; objections; nonresident claimant’s agent for execution of application and affidavits
• § 291 — Lease of gold, silver, or quicksilver deposits on lands title to which confirmed by Court of Private Land Claims
• § 292 — Royalties and rentals; disposition
• § 293 — Duties of Secretary of the Interior
• § 3 — Duties of United States Bureau of Mines
• § 30 — Adverse claims; oath of claimants; requisites; waiver; stay of land office proceedings; judicial determination of right of possession; successful claimants’ filing of judgment roll, certificate of labor, and description of claim in land office, and acreage and fee payments; issuance of patents for entire or partial claims upon certification of land office proceedings and judgment roll; alienation of patent title
• § 301 — Authorization for lease of oil and gas deposits; by and to whom leased
• § 302 — Assignment of lease; subletting
• § 303 — Conditions precedent to award of lease; preferred class; bidding
• § 304 — Provisions authorized in lease
• § 305 — Royalties under lease
• § 306 — Rules and regulations
• § 31 — Oath: agent or attorney in fact, beyond district of claim
• § 32 — Findings by jury; costs
• § 321 to 325 — Omitted
• § 33 — Existing rights
• § 34 — Description of vein claims on surveyed and unsurveyed lands; monuments on ground to govern conflicting calls
• § 35 — Placer claims; entry and proceedings for patent under provisions applicable to vein or lode claims; conforming entry to legal subdivisions and surveys; limitation of claims; homestead entry of segregated agricultural land
• § 351 — Definitions
• § 352 — Deposits subject to lease; consent of department heads; lands excluded
• § 353 — Sale of lands unaffected; reservation of mineral rights; sale subject to prior lease; naval petroleum reserves unaffected
• § 354 — Lease of partial or future interests in deposits
• § 355 — Disposition of receipts
• § 356 — Furnishing description of lands and title documents; recordation of documents; authenticated copies
• § 357 — State or local government rights; taxation
• § 358 — Rights under prior leases; priority of pending applications; exchange of leases
• § 359 — Rules and regulations
• § 36 — Subdivisions of 10-acre tracts; maximum of placer locations; homestead claims of agricultural lands; sale of improvements
• § 360 — Authority to manage certain mineral leases