25 U.S.C. § 399 — Leases of unallotted mineral lands with-

Page 120 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 398d That such taxes shall not become a lien or charge of any kind against the land or other property of such Indians. (Mar. 3, 1927, ch. 299, § 3, 44 Stat. 1347.) § 398d. Changes in boundaries of Executive order reservations Changes in the boundaries of reservations cre- ated by Executive order, proclamation, or other- wise for the use and occupation of Indians shall not be made except by Act of Congress. (Mar. 3, 1927, ch. 299, § 4, 44 Stat. 1347; Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 704(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2792.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1976—Pub. L. 94–579 struck out proviso relating to nonapplicability of provisions to temporary with- drawals by Secretary of the Interior. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 704(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2792, provided that the amendment made by that sec- tion is effective on and after Oct. 21, 1976. SAVINGS PROVISION Amendment by Pub. L. 94–579 not to be construed as terminating any valid lease, permit, patent, etc., exist- ing on Oct. 21, 1976, see Savings Provision note set out under section 1701 of Title 43, Public Lands. § 398e. Applications for permits to prospect for oil and gas filed under other statutes; dis- position The Secretary of the Interior is hereby au- thorized, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, to allow any person who prior to May 27, 1924, filed an application for a permit in accordance with the provisions of the Act of February 25, 1920, to prospect for oil and gas upon lands within an Indian reservation or with- drawal created by Executive order who shall show to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that he, or the party with whom he has contracted, has done prior to January 1, 1926, any or all of the following things, to wit, ex- pended money or labor in geologically surveying the lands covered by such application, has built a road for the benefit of such lands, or has drilled or contributed toward the drilling of the geologic structure upon which such lands are lo- cated, or who in good faith has either filed a mo- tion for reinstatement or rehearing; or per- formed any other act which in the judgment of the Secretary of the Interior entitles him to eq- uitable relief, to prospect for a period of two years from March 3, 1927, or for such further time as the Secretary of the Interior may deem reasonable or necessary for the full exploration of the land described in his application under the terms and conditions therein set out, and a substantial contribution toward the drilling of the geologic structure thereon by such applicant for a permit thereon may be considered as prospecting under the provisions hereof; and upon establishing to the satisfaction of the Sec- retary of the Interior that valuable deposits of oil and gas have been discovered within the lim- its of the land embraced in any such application, he shall be entitled to a lease for one-fourth of the land embraced in the application: Provided, That the applicant shall be granted a lease for as much as one hundred and sixty acres of said lands if there be that number of acres within the application. The area to be selected by the appli- cant shall be in compact form and, if surveyed, to be described by the legal subdivisions of the public land surveyed; if unsurveyed, to be sur- veyed by the Government at the expense of the applicant for lease in accordance with rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and the lands leased shall be con- formed to and taken in accordance with the legal subdivisions of such surveys; deposit made to cover expense of surveys shall be deemed ap- propriated for that purpose, and any excess de- posits may be repaid to the person or persons making such deposit or their legal representa- tives. Such leases shall be for a term of twenty years upon a royalty of 5 per centum in amount or value of the production and the annual pay- ment in advance of a rental of $1 per acre, the rental paid for any one year to be credited against the royalties as they may accrue for that year, with the preferential right in the les- see to renew the same for successive periods of ten years upon such reasonable terms and condi- tions as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. The applicant shall also be entitled to a preference right to a lease for the remain- der of the land in his application at a royalty of not less than 121⁄2 per centum in amount or value of the production, the royalty to be determined by competitive bidding or fixed by such other methods as the Secretary of the Interior may by regulations prescribe: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior shall have the right to reject any or all bids. (Mar. 3, 1927, ch. 299, § 5, 44 Stat. 1347.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Act of February 25, 1920, referred to in text, probably means act Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, 41 Stat. 437, as amended, known as the Mineral Leasing Act, which is classified generally to chapter 3A (§ 181 et seq.) of Title 30, Min- eral Lands and Mining. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 181 of Title 30 and Tables. § 399. Leases of unallotted mineral lands with- drawn from entry under mining laws [AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO LEASE.] The Secretary of the Interior is author- ized and empowered, under general regulations to be fixed by him and under such terms and conditions as he may prescribe, not inconsistent with the terms of this section, to lease to citi- zens of the United States, or to any association of such persons, or to any corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any State or Territory thereof, any part of the unallotted lands within any Indian reservation within the States of Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Wash- ington, or Wyoming withdrawn prior to June 30, 1919, from entry under the mining laws for the Page 121 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 399 purpose of mining for deposits of gold, silver, copper, and other valuable metalliferous min- erals, and nonmetalliferous minerals, not in- cluding oil and gas, which leases shall be irrev- ocable, except as herein provided, but which may be declared null and void upon breach of any of their terms. [LOCATION OF MINING CLAIMS.] Unallotted lands, or such portion thereof as the Secretary of the Interior shall determine, within Indian reservations withheld prior to June 30, 1919, from disposition under the mining laws may be declared by the Secretary of the Interior to be subject to exploration for the discovery of de- posits of gold, silver, copper, and other valuable metalliferous minerals and nonmetalliferous minerals, not including oil and gas, by citizens of the United States, and after such declaration mining claims may be located by such citizens in the same manner as mining claims are lo- cated under the mining laws of the United States. [PREFERENCE RIGHT OF LOCATORS OF CLAIMS TO LEASE OF LANDS.] The locators of all such mining claims, or their heirs, successors, or assigns, shall have a preference right to apply to the Secretary of the Interior for a lease, under the terms and conditions of this section, within one year after the date of the location of any mining claim, and any such locator who shall fail to apply for a lease within one year from the date of location shall forfeit all rights to such mining claim. [FILING COPIES OF LOCATION NOTICES.] Duplicate copies of the location notice shall be filed within sixty days with the superintendent in charge of the reservation on which the mining claim is lo- cated, and application for a lease under this sec- tion may be filed with such superintendent for transmission, through official channels, to the Secretary of the Interior. [LANDS EXCEPTED FROM ENTRY AS MINING CLAIMS.] Lands containing springs, water holes, or other bodies of water needed or used by the Indians for watering livestock, irrigation, or water-power purposes shall not be designated by the Secretary of the Interior as subject to entry under this section. [TERM OF LEASE; RENEWAL.] Leases under this section shall be for a period of twenty years, with the preferential right in the lessee to renew the same for successive periods of ten years, upon such reasonable terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Inte- rior, unless otherwise provided by law at the time of the expiration of such periods. [RELINQUISHMENT OF RIGHTS BY LESSEE.] The lessee may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, be permitted at any time to make written relinquishment of all rights under such a lease and upon acceptance thereof be thereby relieved of all future obligations under said lease. [LEASE OF ADDITIONAL LAND FOR CAMP SITES AND OTHER PURPOSES.] In addition to areas of mineral land to be included in leases under this section the Secretary of the Interior, in his dis- cretion, may grant to the lessee the right to use, during the life of the lease, subject to the pay- ment of an annual rental of not less than $1 per acre, a tract of unoccupied land, not exceeding forty acres in area, for camp sites, milling, smelting, and refining works, and for other pur- poses connected with and necessary to the prop- er development and use of the deposits covered by the lease. [RESERVATION OF SURFACE OF LEASED LAND TO UNITED STATES; EASEMENTS.] The Secretary of the Interior, in his discretion, in making any lease under this section, may reserve to the United States the right to lease for a term not exceeding that of the mineral lease, the surface of the lands embraced within such lease under existing law or laws hereafter enacted, insofar as said surface is not necessary for use of the lessee in extracting and removing the deposits therein: Provided, That the said Secretary, dur- ing the life of the lease, is hereby authorized to issue such permits for easements herein pro- vided to be reserved. [RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF SUCCESSORS TO LES- SEES.] Any successor in interest or assignee of any lease granted under this section, whether by voluntary transfer, judicial sale, foreclosure sale, or otherwise, shall be subject to all the conditions of the lease under which such rights are held and also subject to all the provisions and conditions of this section to the same ex- tent as though such successor or assign were the original lessee hereunder. [FORFEITURE OF LEASES; NOTICE.] Any lease granted under this section may be forfeited and canceled by appropriate proceedings in the United States district court for the district in which said property or some part thereof is situ- ated whenever the lessee, after reasonable no- tice in writing, as prescribed in the lease, shall fail to comply with the terms of this section or with such conditions not inconsistent herewith as may be specifically recited in the lease. [ROYALTIES PAYABLE BY LESSEES.] For the privilege of mining or extracting the mineral de- posits in the ground covered by the lease the les- see shall pay to the United States, for the ben- efit of the Indians, a royalty which shall not be less than 5 per centum of the net value of the output of the minerals at the mine, due and pay- able at the end of each month succeeding that of the extraction of the minerals from the mine, and an annual rental, payable at the date of such lease and annually thereafter on the area covered by such lease, at the rate of not less than 25 cents per acre for the first calendar year thereafter; not less than 50 cents per acre for the second, third, fourth, and fifth years, respec- tively; and not less than $1 per acre for each and every year thereafter during the continuance of the lease, except that such rental for any year shall be credited against the royalties as they accrue for that year. [DEVELOPMENT WORK BY LOCATORS OR LESSEES; DAMAGE TO LAND.] In addition to the payment of the royalties and rentals as herein provided the lessee shall expend annually not less than $100 in development work for each mining claim lo- cated or leased in the same manner as an annual expenditure for labor or improvements is re- quired to be made under the mining laws of the United States: Provided, That the lessee shall also agree to pay all damages occasioned by rea- son of his mining operations to the land or allot- ment of any Indian or to the crops or improve- ments thereon. Page 122 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 400 [CUTTING TIMBER BY LESSEES.] No timber shall be cut upon the reservation by the lessee except for mining purposes and then only after first ob- taining a permit from the superintendent of the reservation and upon payment of the fair value thereof. [EXAMINATION OF BOOKS AND ACCOUNTS OF LES- SEES.] The Secretary of the Interior is author- ized to examine the books and accounts of les- sees, and to require them to submit statements, representations, or reports, including informa- tion as to cost of mining, all of which state- ments, representations, or reports so required shall be upon oath, unless otherwise specified, and in such form and upon such blanks as the Secretary of the Interior may require; and any person making any false statement, representa- tion, or report under oath or in any declaration, certificate, verification, or statement under pen- alty of perjury as permitted under section 1746 of title 28 shall be subject to punishment as for perjury. [DISPOSITION OF RENTALS AND ROYALTIES.] All moneys received from royalties and rentals under the provisions of this section shall be de- posited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Indians belonging and having tribal rights on the reservation where the leased land is located, which moneys shall be at all times subject to appropriation by Congress for their benefit, unless otherwise provided by trea- ty or agreement ratified by Congress: Provided, That such moneys shall be subject to the laws authorizing the pro rata distribution of Indian tribal funds. [PROTECTION OF INTERESTS OF INDIANS.] The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to per- form any and all acts and to make such rules and regulations not inconsistent with this sec- tion as may be necessary and proper for the pro- tection of the interests of the Indians and for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this section into full force and effect: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed or held to affect the right of the States or other local authority to exercise any rights which they may have to levy and collect taxes upon improvements, output of mines, or other rights, property, or assets of any lessee. [MINING LOCATIONS BY AND LEASES TO INDIANS DECLARED COMPETENT.] Mining locations, under the terms of this section, may be made on unallotted lands within Indian reservations by Indians who have heretofore or may hereafter be declared by the Secretary of the Interior to be competent to manage their own affairs; and the said Secretary is authorized and empowered to lease such lands to such Indians in accordance with the provisions of this section. [MINING LOCATIONS BY AND LEASES TO OTHER IN- DIANS.] The Secretary of the Interior is author- ized to permit other Indians to make locations and obtain leases under the provisions of this section, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe in regard to the working, devel- oping, disposition, and selling of the products, and the disposition of the proceeds thereof of any such mine by such Indians. [‘‘METALLIFEROUS’’ DEFINED.] Wherever the term ‘‘metalliferous’’ is used in this section it shall be defined and construed by the Secretary of the Interior to include magnesite, gypsum, limestone, and asbestos. (June 30, 1919, ch. 4, § 26, 41 Stat. 31; Mar. 3, 1921, ch. 119, 41 Stat. 1231; Dec. 16, 1926, ch. 12, 44 Stat. 922; Pub. L. 94–550, § 10, Oct. 18, 1976, 90 Stat. 2536.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The mining laws of the United States, referred to in text, are classified generally to Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining. AMENDMENTS 1976—Pub. L. 94–550 inserted ‘‘or in any declaration, certificate, verification, or statement under penalty of perjury as permitted under section 1746 of title 28’’ after ‘‘under oath’’ in paragraph authorizing Secretary of the Interior to examine books and accounts of les- sees. 1926—Act Dec. 16, 1926, inserted ‘‘and nonmetallif- erous minerals, not including oil and gas’’ after ‘‘met- alliferous minerals’’ in first and second paragraphs and reenacted third, fourth, and fifth paragraphs without change. 1921—Act Mar. 3, 1921, which directed amendment of this section followed by a paragraph defining the term ‘‘metalliferous’’, was executed by adding such paragaph at the end of this section. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with cer- tain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1,2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. § 400. Leases for mining purposes of reserved and unallotted lands in Fort Peck and Black- feet Indian Reservations Lands reserved for school and agency purposes and all other unallotted lands on the Fort Peck and Blackfeet Indian Reservations, in the State of Montana, reserved from allotment or other disposition, may be leased for mining purposes under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. (Sept. 20, 1922, ch. 347, 42 Stat. 857.) § 400a. Lease for mining purposes of land re- served for agency or school; disposition of proceeds; royalty The Secretary of the Interior is authorized under such rules and regulations as he may pre- scribe, to lease at public auction upon not less than thirty days’ public notice for mining pur- poses land on any Indian reservation reserved for Indian agency or school purposes, in accord- ance with existing law applicable to other lands in such reservation, and the proceeds arising therefrom shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Indians for whose benefit the lands are reserved subject to appropriation by Congress for educational work among the Indians or in paying expenses of ad- ministration of agencies: Provided, That a roy- alty of at least one-eighth shall be reserved in all leases.