1999 Minnesota Statutes

     93.19 Permit holders; leases, royalties.  

    Subdivision 1.    Conditions requisite prior to lease.  
 At any time prior to the expiration of an iron ore prospecting 
 permit issued upon public sale under section 93.17, if the 
 commissioner shall determine that all the terms and conditions 
 of the permit and applicable provisions of law have been 
 complied with, the holder of the permit shall have the right to 
 receive from the commissioner of natural resources a mining 
 lease as prescribed in section 93.20, which shall bind the state 
 and the lessee to the mutual observance of the obligations and 
 conditions thereof.  As a condition precedent to the issuing of 
 such mining lease, the holder of the permit shall file a full 
 verified report of all work of exploration done under the 
 permit, in accordance with the terms and conditions thereof and 
 applicable provisions of law, or, in case no work was done, an 
 affidavit so stating, and shall pay to the state treasurer as 
 rental to the end of the first quarter under the lease an amount 
 commensurate with the unexpired portion of that quarter at the 
 rate specified in section 93.20.  

    Subd. 2.    Rental.  If the holder of any such permit 
 shall indicate in an application for a lease that the holder 
 considers the lands covered by the permit to be principally 
 valuable for the taconite thereon and that the holder desires a 
 taconite mining lease thereon, the commissioner of natural 
 resources, on the basis of all available information, including 
 information acquired as the result of exploratory work under the 
 permit, if any, shall determine whether the lands covered by the 
 permit are principally valuable for the taconite thereon and 
 have no substantial value because of merchantable deposits of 
 iron ores of other kinds defined in section 93.20.  If the 
 commissioner shall so determine, the applicant shall be entitled 
 to a lease for mining taconite ore as prescribed in section 
 93.20, upon compliance with the provisions of subdivision 1, so 
 far as applicable, and upon payment to the state treasurer of 
 rental to the end of the first quarter at the rate specified in 
 said section for such leases.  In such cases the commissioner 
 shall designate the lease as taconite iron ore mining lease and 
 shall insert the reduced rental rates for such leases as 
 specified in section 93.20.  

    Subd. 3.    Surrender or cancellation of permit.  Upon 
 the surrender or expiration of a prospecting permit or upon the 
 issuance of a mining lease pursuant thereto, if the commissioner 
 shall determine that the terms and conditions of the permit and 
 applicable provisions of law have been fully complied with, the 
 certified check deposited as security for performance of the 
 covenants of the permit, as provided by section 93.17, 
 subdivision 2, shall be returned to the holder of the permit or 
 assigns of the holder.  Otherwise, upon the surrender, 
 cancellation, or expiration of such a permit, such check shall 
 be deemed forfeited to the state for failure of performance of 
 the covenants of the permit, and the proceeds shall be credited 
 to the same fund as the rental or royalty from the mining unit 
 affected.  

    HIST: (6408) 1921 c 412 s 6; 1925 c 395 s 1; 1927 c 389 s 1; 
 1941 c 546 s 4; 1943 c 233 s 2; 1951 c 546 s 2; 1969 c 1129 art 
 10 s 2; 1986 c 444