Subdivision 1. Lease application. (a) Applications for leases to prospect for iron ore shall be presented to the commissioner in writing in such form as the commissioner may prescribe at any time before 4:30 p.m., St. Paul, Minnesota time, on the last business day before the day specified for the opening of bids, and no bids submitted after that time shall be considered. The application shall be accompanied by a certified check, cashier's check, or bank money order payable to the Department of Natural Resources in the sum of $100 for each mining unit.
(b) Each application shall be accompanied by a sealed bid setting forth the amount of royalty per gross ton of crude ore based upon the iron content of the ore when dried at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, in its natural condition or when concentrated, as set out in section 93.20, subdivisions 12 to 18, that the applicant proposes to pay to the state of Minnesota in case the lease shall be awarded.
Subd. 2. Bid requirements. (a) Whenever a bid on any mining unit exceeds the minimums prescribed in section 93.20, the bidder shall offer a uniform amount above the minimums on all schedules unless the mining unit is expressly excepted from this requirement by the commissioner of natural resources by so specifying in the list of lands and mining units.
(b) The envelope containing each bid shall be plainly marked on the outside showing the date of application, date received by the commissioner, and the name of the applicant. The commissioner shall endorse upon each application and sealed bid the exact time of presentation and preserve the same unopened in the commissioner's office.
Subd. 3. Bid acceptance. (a) At the time and place fixed for the sale, the commissioner shall publicly announce the number of applications and bids received. The commissioner shall then publicly open the bids and announce the amount of each bid separately. Thereafter, the commissioner, together with the Executive Council, shall award the leases to the highest bidders for the respective mining units, but no bids shall be accepted that do not equal or exceed the minimum amounts provided for in section 93.20, nor shall any bid be accepted that does not comply with the law. The right is reserved to the state to reject any and all bids.
(b) All applications for leases and bids not accepted at the sale shall become void at the close of the sale and the payment accompanying the applications and bids shall be returned to the applicants entitled to them.
(c) Upon the award of a lease, the payment submitted with the application as provided by subdivision 1 shall be deposited with the commissioner of management and budget as a fee for the lease.
(6406) 1921 c 412 s 4; 1925 c 395 s 1; 1927 c 389 s 1; 1941 c 546 s 3; 1949 c 434 s 1; 1951 c 547 s 3; 1969 c 1129 art 10 s 2; 1986 c 444; 1991 c 194 s 2,3; 2000 c 495 s 14; 2003 c 112 art 2 s 50; 2009 c 101 art 2 s 109
Structure Minnesota Statutes
Chapters 92 - 94 — Lands And Minerals
Section 93.001 — Policy For Mineral Development.
Section 93.0015 — Mineral Coordinating Committee.
Section 93.003 — Iron Mining; Conditions.
Section 93.01 — Reservation Of Minerals And Water Powers.
Section 93.02 — Instruments Transferring Interest; Reservation.
Section 93.03 — Patent Under Land Grant To Railroad; Reservation.
Section 93.04 — Disposition Of Minerals Reserved.
Section 93.05 — Holder Of Lease.
Section 93.055 — Action To Quiet Title To Lands Covered By Mineral Lease.
Section 93.06 — Reservation Of Minerals Under Navigable Lakes.
Section 93.14 — Leases To Prospect For Ores.
Section 93.15 — Mining Units; Designation.
Section 93.16 — Leases; Sale And Notice.
Section 93.17 — Application For Leases; Bids; Awards.
Section 93.171 — Eligibility And Performance.
Section 93.1925 — Negotiated Leases.
Section 93.193 — Taconite Iron Ore Mining Lease; Extension.
Section 93.20 — Form Of Lease; Required Content; Modification.
Section 93.201 — Royalties For Taconite Concentrates.
Section 93.21 — Execution Of Lease.
Section 93.22 — Disposition Of Payments.
Section 93.222 — Taconite Iron Ore Special Advance Royalty Account.
Section 93.2235 — Taconite Mining Grants; Appropriations.
Section 93.2236 — Minerals Management Account.
Section 93.245 — Mining Minerals Other Than Iron Ore.
Section 93.25 — Ores Other Than Iron; Leases.
Section 93.26 — Leases To Be Filed.
Section 93.27 — Assignments, Agreements, Or Contracts Affecting Leases; Filing.
Section 93.28 — Approval Of Instruments.
Section 93.285 — Stockpiled Iron Ore.
Section 93.33 — Leasing Surface Of Land.
Section 93.335 — Lands Held In Trust; Mineral Rights Only; Mineral Rights Acquired Under Tax Laws.
Section 93.34 — Draining Public Waters.
Section 93.41 — State-owned Iron-bearing Materials.
Section 93.43 — Leases To Nonferrous Metallic Minerals Producers.
Section 93.44 — Declaration Of Policy.
Section 93.45 — Iron Range Trail.
Section 93.461 — Peat Included In Mine Land Reclamation.
Section 93.47 — Duties And Authority Of Commissioner.
Section 93.481 — Permit To Mine.
Section 93.482 — Reclamation Fees.
Section 93.483 — Contested Case.
Section 93.49 — Financial Assurance Of Operator.
Section 93.51 — Penalties For Violation.
Section 93.515 — Oil And Gas Wells; Rules Relating To Spacing, Pooling, And Unitization.
Section 93.52 — Ownership Of Severed Mineral Interests.
Section 93.55 — Forfeiture Of Severed Mineral Interest.
Section 93.551 — Validation Of Certain Statements; Correction Of Certain Errors.