43 U.S.C. § 1719 — Mineral interests; reservation and conveyance requirements and procedures

(a) Every title conveyance issued by the Secretary, except a land-exchange conveyance under section 1716, must reserve to the United States all minerals in the land and the right to explore for, mine, and remove them under applicable law and the Secretary's regulations. But if the Secretary makes the findings in subsection (b), the minerals may be conveyed with the surface to the proposed surface owner as subsection (b) provides.

(b)(1) After consulting the appropriate department or agency head, the Secretary may convey United States-owned mineral interests when the surface is or will be privately owned, regardless of which Federal entity administered the surface, if the Secretary finds either that the land has no known mineral value or that reserving the mineral rights is interfering with or preventing appropriate nonmineral development and that this development is a more beneficial use than mineral development. (2) The mineral interest may be conveyed only to the existing or proposed record owner of the surface, who must pay the administrative costs and fair market value of the interest. (3) Before considering an application, the Secretary must require the applicant to deposit money the Secretary considers enough to cover administrative costs. These may include an exploration program to determine the character of mineral deposits, evaluation of its data to determine fair market value, and preparation and issuance of conveyance documents. If costs exceed the deposit, the applicant must pay the balance. If the deposit is larger, the applicant receives a credit or refund for the excess. Alternatively, with the Secretary's consent, the applicant may conduct an exploration program under the Secretary's standards and submit its results. (4) Money paid for administrative costs must be paid to the agency that performed the work and deposited into that agency's current appropriation.