Title 47 Mines and Mining Chapter 7 Mineral Rights In
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TITLE 47 MINES AND MINING CHAPTER 7 MINERAL RIGHTS IN STATE LANDS 47-701. RESERVATION OF MINERAL DEPOSITS TO STATE -- TERMS DEFINED. (1) The terms "mineral lands," "mineral," "mineral deposits," "deposit," and "mineral right," as used in this chapter, and amendments thereto shall be construed to mean and include all coal, oil, oil shale, gas, phosphate, sodium, asbestos, gold, silver, lead, zinc, copper, antimony, geothermal resources, salable minerals, and all other mineral lands, minerals or deposits of minerals of whatsoever kind or character. (2) Such deposits in lands belonging to the state are hereby reserved to the state and are reserved from sale except upon a rental and royalty basis and except when the surface estate is identified by the state board of land commissioners as having the potential highest and best use for development purposes, such as residential, commercial or industrial purposes. Except for the aforementioned purposes, the purchaser of all other state land shall acquire no right, title or interest in or to such deposits, and the right of such purchaser shall be subject to the reservation of all mineral deposits and to the conditions and limitations prescribed by law providing for the state and persons authorized by it to prospect for, mine, and remove such deposits and to occupy and use so much of the surface of said land as may be required for all purposes reasonably incident to the mining and removal of such deposits therefrom. (3) An exchange of state land consummated by the board under author- ity of section 58-138, Idaho Code, shall not be considered a sale of state lands. The transfers of mineral deposits heretofore made in such exchanges are hereby approved. [(47-701) 1923, ch. 96, sec. 1, p. 115; am. 1925, ch. 220, sec. 1, p. 404; I.C.A., sec. 46-701; am. 1981, ch. 325, sec. 1, p. 676; am. 1986, ch. 81, sec. 1, p. 239; am. 1992, ch. 226, sec. 1, p. 676; am. 2004, ch. 13, sec. 1, p. 10.] 47-701A. DEFINITION. As used in section 47-701, Idaho Code, the term "salable minerals," means a mineral substance that can be taken from the earth and that has a value in and of itself separate and apart from the earth and includes, but is not limited to, building stone, cinders, pumice, sco- ria, clay, diatomaceous earth, sand, gravel, quartz, limestone and marble. [47-701A, added 1986, ch. 81, sec. 2, p. 239.] 47-702. RIGHT OF EXPLORATION AND WITHDRAWAL. (1) All lands belonging to the state of Idaho in which the mineral deposits, excepting oil and gas and geothermal resources, are owned by the state, and which have not been lo- cated, leased, or withdrawn in accordance with the terms of this chapter, are hereby declared to be free and open to casual exploration. (2) The board of land commissioners is authorized in its discretion to withdraw from entry and exploration specifically described tracts of state lands under its control and jurisdiction, or state lands under the control and jurisdiction of other state agencies. Within thirty (30) days of the decision for such withdrawal the board of land commissioners shall publish 2 a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in which such lands are situated providing the legal description of the lands withdrawn. Concerned citizens shall have thirty (30) days from the date of publication to request an appeal of such withdrawal to the board of land com- missioners. [(47-702) 1923, ch. 96, sec. 2, p. 115; I.C.A., sec. 46-702; am. 1981, ch. 325, sec. 2, p. 677; am. 1986, ch. 131, sec. 1, p. 338.] 47-703. EXPLORATION LOCATIONS ON STATE LANDS. (1) Location for explo- ration purposes may be made upon lands belonging to the state of Idaho in which the mineral rights are reserved or belong to the state, including the beds of all navigable rivers in the state of Idaho and all portions of said navigable rivers between the natural or ordinary high water marks, provid- ing that no exploration location may be made on any lands for which a mineral lease application has been made and is pending as provided in section 47-704, Idaho Code; providing further, that no exploration location may be made for salable minerals as that term is used in section 47-701, Idaho Code. (2) Such locations when made upon surveyed land shall conform to le- gal subdivisions. When made upon the beds of navigable rivers, they shall not exceed one-half (1/2) river mile. When made on surveyed land, they shall not exceed twenty (20) acres except that when made upon surveyed land desig- nated as a lot, they may equal one-half (1/2) of said lot. Descriptions of locations made on the beds of navigable rivers, the boundaries of which shall have been meandered, shall be described as near as may be with the lotting of the fractional subdivisions bordering upon the navigable rivers, and the description of the location shall be so accurately drawn and tied to the gov- ernment corners that the ground may be accurately located and so described that the location may be accurately platted upon the books of the state board of land commissioners. (3) The discoverer of a mineral deposit or a person desiring to prospect for mineral shall immediately post conspicuously on each twenty (20) acre tract or fraction thereof, or each one-half (1/2) river mile that he desires to locate, an exploration certificate of location declaring that he has made such discovery or declaring that he desires to prospect for mineral, together with the date of such discovery or declaration. Said certificate shall be in such form as the board may prescribe. The locator shall be allowed twenty (20) days from such date to file an exact copy of exploration certificate of location with the state board of land commissioners and pay the appropriate fees. Said certificate shall designate the legal subdivi- sions located and shall be recorded in the office of said board as of the date of filing, and an entry of such location shall be made upon the plat and tract books. (4) The locator shall be entitled to hold said location for a period of two (2) years from the first of the month following the date of recording and by performing one hundred dollars ($100) worth of work during each year for each location. (5) Work within the meaning of this chapter shall consist of tunnels, shafts, or other mining excavations or development, including drilling by conventional methods and pits or shafts sunk to determine the value of the gravels. Work shall include roads, trails, buildings, machinery, or other surface improvement. All such work may be done at one (1) place on the lo- cation or at as many places as the locator may desire, and in case two (2) or more locations are under the same ownership, then said work may be performed 3 on any one (1) or more locations. Work so performed as annual assessment, where performed for the benefit of a group contiguous and under common own- ership, shall be such that it shall be of material benefit to each and every location forming the contiguous group. (6) Written proof that such work has been done shall be filed with the state board of land commissioners on such forms and in such manner as it shall prescribe. Such procedure shall empower the locator to retain possession of and prospect said location for a period of two (2) years, at the end of which time he shall be required to take a lease upon such terms as may be agreed upon by the state board of land commissioners. Provided, that the right granted under this section to prospect for mineral and to make locations shall not extend to lands in the possession of a purchaser under contract of sale from the state. [(47-703) added 1923, ch. 96, sec. 3, p. 115; am. 1925, ch. 220, sec. 2, p. 404; am. 1933, ch. 107, sec. 1, p. 169; am. 1937, ch. 124, sec. 1, p. 185; am. 1951, ch. 72, sec. 1, p. 112; am. 1981, ch. 325, sec. 3, p. 677; am. 1990, ch. 316, sec. 1, p. 861; am. 2020, ch. 341, sec. 1, p. 998.] 47-703A. EXPLORATION ON STATE LANDS -- BOND. (1) With the exception of casual exploration as defined in subsection (6)(a) of this section, prior to motorized exploration on state lands, an operator shall first submit to the director of the department of lands, an exploration and reclamation plan and a bond in such form as prescribed by the board. The bond shall be in an amount determined by the board to be the estimated reasonable costs to per- form the reclamation activities described in the exploration and reclama- tion plan in the event of the failure of the operator to complete those activ- ities, plus ten percent (10%) of such costs, and conditioned on the payment of all damages to the land and resources thereon caused by the motorized ex- ploration. An operator shall also comply with the dredge and placer mining act, chapter 13, title 47, Idaho Code, and the surface mining act, chapter 15, title 47, Idaho Code, where applicable. Written approval by the board is required prior to entry for motorized exploration. (2) Except as provided in this subsection, no bond for exploration reclamation submitted pursuant to this chapter shall exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for any given acre of affected land.