§ 1004. — Rents and royalties.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 30USC1004]
TITLE 30--MINERAL LANDS AND MINING
CHAPTER 23--GEOTHERMAL STEAM AND ASSOCIATED GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES
Sec. 1004. Rents and royalties
Geothermal leases shall provide for--
(a) Royalty provision for percentage of amount or value of
steam or other form of heat or energy
a royalty of not less than 10 per centum or more than 15 per
centum of the amount or value of steam, or any other form of heat or
energy derived from production under the lease and sold or utilized
by the lessee or reasonably susceptible to sale or utilization by
the lessee;
(b) Royalty provision for percentage of value of byproduct;
rate for certain mineral byproducts
a royalty of not more than 5 per centum of the value of any
byproduct derived from production under the lease and sold or
utilized or reasonably susceptible of sale or utilization by the
lessee, except that as to any byproduct which is a mineral named in
section 1 of the Mineral Leasing Act of February 25, 1920, as
amended (30 U.S.C. 181), the rate of royalty for such mineral shall
be the same as that provided in that Act [30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.] and
the maximum rate of royalty for such mineral shall not exceed the
maximum royalty applicable under that Act;
(c) Annual rental; advance payment; amount; termination of
lease for nonpayment; deficiency payments: notice
and payment of deficiency; reinstatement of lease:
reasons and conditions
payment in advance of an annual rental of not less than $1 per
acre or fraction thereof for each year of the lease. If there is no
well on the leased lands capable of producing geothermal resources
in commercial quantities, the failure to pay rental on or before the
anniversary date shall terminate the lease by operation of law:
Provided, however, That whenever the Secretary discovers that the
rental payment due under a lease is paid timely but the amount of
the payment is deficient because of an error or other reason and the
deficiency is nominal, as determined by the Secretary pursuant to
regulations prescribed by him, he shall notify the lessee of the
deficiency and such lease shall not automatically terminate unless
the lessee fails to pay the deficiency within the period prescribed
in the notice: Provided further, That, where any lease has been
terminated automatically by operation of law under this section for
failure to pay rental timely and it is shown to the satisfaction of
the Secretary of the Interior that the failure to pay timely the
lease rental was justifiable or not due to a lack of reasonable
diligence, he in his judgment may reinstate the lease if--
(1) a petition for reinstatement, together with the required
rental, is filed with the Secretary of the Interior; and
(2) no valid lease has been issued affecting any of the
lands in the terminated lease prior to the filing of the
petition for reinstatement; and
(d) Royalties in lieu of rentals for producing leases;
amount; initial payment; value of unsold geothermal
steam and byproducts; consideration of exploration
and production costs and use value
a minimum royalty of $2 per acre or fraction thereof in lieu of
rental payable at the expiration of each lease year for each
producing lease, commencing with the lease year beginning on or
after the commencement of production in commercial quantities. For
the purpose of determining royalties hereunder the value of any
geothermal steam and byproduct used by the lessee and not sold and
reasonably susceptible of sale shall be determined by the Secretary,
who shall take into consideration the cost of exploration and
production and the economic value of the resource in terms of its
ultimate utilization.
(Pub. L. 91-581, Sec. 5, Dec. 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 1567.)
References in Text
That Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is the Mineral Leasing Act of
February 25, 1920, act Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, 41 Stat. 437, as amended,
known as the Mineral Leasing Act, which is classified generally to
chapter 3A (Sec. 181 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification
of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 181
of this title and Tables.
