Article 5 - Minerals Other Than Oil and Gas

California Public Resources Code — §§ 6890-6900

Sections (10)

Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 120, Sec. 1. (AB 706) Effective January 1, 2024.

(a)Prospecting permits and leases for the extraction and removal of minerals, other than oil and gas or other hydrocarbon substances, from lands, consistent with Section 6900, may be issued as provided in this article and in this chapter insofar as not in conflict with this article.

No lease or permit shall be issued that results in any net adverse impact to wetlands or riparian habitat.

(b)Where lands, other than tide and submerged lands, belonging to the state have been dedicated to a public use, the commission may issue permits and leases for the exploration, extraction, and removal of minerals, other than oil and gas or other hydrocarbon substances and geothermal resources, in accordance with this article. Where the lands have been acquired for the use of a specific state agency, the state agency, before issuance, shall approve the work to be performed under the authority of the permit or lease and the state agency shall specify terms and conditions required to ensure that the work shall be performed in a manner that is not inconsistent with the purposes for which the land is owned or

operated.

(c)If the property is a wildlife management area acquired pursuant to Section 1525 of the Fish and Game Code, the commission shall not issue any permit or lease under this section unless the Department of Fish and Game determines, and reports in writing to the commission, that the proposed activity will not cause a net loss of wildlife habitat value or acreage in that area because privately owned land of greater total wildlife habitat value and acreage, which has habitat values similar in type to the area to be permitted or leased, will be acquired and dedicated to the state to replace the land of that wildlife management area. The replacement land shall be located within 10 miles of the wildlife management area where the lease or permit is to be issued.

(d)The commission

shall not issue a permit or lease under this section for any land under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation, for any refuge or other protected area, as described in Division 7 (commencing with Section 10500) of the Fish and Game Code, or for any ecological reserve, as described in Article 4 (commencing with Section 1580) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code.

(e)Notwithstanding Section 6217, as of June 30 of each year, a sum equal to 50 percent of the revenue received by the state for the fiscal year ending on June 30 pursuant to permits and leases for the development of minerals, other than oil, gas, or other hydrocarbon substances and geothermal resources, on lands that have been dedicated to a public use and are administered by a state agency other than the commission shall be available for appropriation

by the Legislature for the support of, and apportionment and transfer by the Controller to, that state agency.

(f)If the state agency receives a majority of its funding from a special fund established for the general support of the agency, the revenue made available by subdivision (e) shall be deposited in that fund and shall be available, when appropriated, for the general purposes of the agency.

(g)Any person issued a permit or lease under subdivision (a) shall comply with all existing federal, state, and local government laws.

(h)The commission may grant nonexclusive geological or geophysical exploration permits for minerals, pursuant to this section, upon those terms and conditions as the commission may prescribe.

A permit granted under this subdivision shall not give the permittee any preferential treatment.

§ 6890.5

Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 770, Sec. 2.

Notwithstanding any other law, when lands, other than tide and submerged lands, are owned by another state agency, the commission, when issuing permits and leases for the exploration, extraction, and removal of minerals, other than oil and gas or other hydrocarbon substances and geothermal resources, may agree that the state agency owning the land will receive additional lands or in-kind payments, the value of which shall be deducted from the money royalty, including land rental payments, or a percentage of the net profits from mineral extraction.

§ 6891

Amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 649, Sec. 1.

The commission may issue a prospecting permit, under such rules and regulations as it may prescribe, for lands which are not known mineral lands, to any qualified applicant, upon the payment to the commission of a reasonable charge, as determined by the commission, of not less than one dollar ($1) per acre for each acre in area embraced within the boundaries of the lands described in the permit. No permit shall be issued for any lands which have been classified by the commission prior to the application as containing commercially valuable mineral deposits. Upon receipt of an application for a permit, the commission shall determine whether the lands described therein are known mineral lands. If the commission determines that the lands are known mineral lands, it shall thereupon so classify them and shall reject the application for a prospecting permit.

Subject to such terms and conditions as the commission may determine to be in the best interest of the state, a prospecting permit shall give to the permittee the exclusive right for a period not exceeding two years to prospect for minerals other than oil and gas or other hydrocarbon substances upon lands wherein the mineral deposits belong to the state.

The commission may, in its discretion, extend the term of any permit for a period not exceeding one year, but the term of any permit, including extensions, shall be limited to a total of three years.

§ 6895

Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 120, Sec. 4. (AB 706) Effective January 1, 2024.

(a)Upon establishing to the satisfaction of the commission that commercially valuable deposits of minerals have been discovered within the limits of any permit, the permittee shall receive priority for a mining lease over any other applicant seeking a lease for the land included in the prospecting

permit. This priority shall expire after 365 days unless the permittee submits a complete lease application to mine the discovered minerals, in which case the priority shall expire upon the commission’s consideration or applicant’s withdrawal of the application. Mineral leases shall be limited to the minimum area required for mining. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the commission to issue a mineral lease.

(b)The lease shall provide for the payment of an annual rental of not less than fair market value, as determined by the commission. The lease shall also provide for payment, which may be taken in kind, of either a royalty, to be taken in money or in kind, at the option of the commission, of not less than 10 percent of the gross value of all mineral production from the leased lands, less any

charges approved by the commission that were made or incurred with respect to transporting or processing the state’s royalty share of production, or a percentage, to be determined by the commission, of the net profits derived from mineral extraction operations under the lease. Payment as a royalty or as a percentage of net profits shall be specified in the

permit or lease.

(c)If the lands for which a lease is sought are tide and submerged lands, the commission, in accordance with Section 6900, may divide the lands into the size and number of parcels as the commission determines will not substantially impair the public rights to navigation and fishing or interfere with the trust upon which the lands are held.

§ 6896

Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 120, Sec. 5. (AB 706) Effective January 1, 2024.

Until the permittee applies for a lease as to that portion of the area described in the permit herein provided, the permittee shall pay to the state 20 percent of the gross value of the minerals secured from the lands embraced within

the permit and sold or otherwise disposed of or held for sale or other disposition.

§ 6897

Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 120, Sec. 6. (AB 706) Effective January 1, 2024.

(a)All deposits of minerals, other than oil, gas, and geothermal resources in lands belonging to the state, which have been classified by the commission as lands containing commercially valuable mineral deposits and all deposits of those minerals within lands embraced within a prospecting permit may be leased by the commission in either of the following ways:

(1)By competitive bidding to

the highest qualified and responsible bidder. The bidding shall be on the basis of a cash bonus, royalty rate, net profit, or other single biddable factor, and shall be conducted under general regulations and in a form to be determined by the commission to be in the best interest of the state.

(2)By a negotiated lease or other agreement, if the lands are determined by the commission to be unsuitable for competitive bidding for reasons such as small size, irregular configuration, lack of access, or if a negotiated lease is in the best interest of the state.

(b)In addition to the payment of a royalty in money or in kind or a percentage of the net profits derived from mineral extraction operations provided therein, each bid and each lease shall also provide for an annual payment in advance of rent of not less than

fair market value or a greater sum as the commission may specify.

§ 6898

Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 120, Sec. 7. (AB 706) Effective January 1, 2024.

Leases under this article shall be for terms not to exceed 20 years.

§ 6898.5

Added by Stats. 1991, Ch. 520, Sec. 6.

Notwithstanding Section 6898, any lease in effect on July 1, 1991, of lands, within the bed of Owens Lake for the development of minerals other than oil and gas and geothermal resources may be immediately extended by the commission for an additional 20 years beyond its current expiration date, with the subsequent lease renewal in accordance with Section 6898.

§ 6899

Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 120, Sec. 8. (AB 706) Effective January 1, 2024.

The commission shall prescribe additional terms and conditions, consistent with the provisions of this chapter, of permits and leases issued under this article as will in its opinion effectually protect the interests of the state in the mineral deposits reserved to it by this chapter.

§ 6900

Repealed and added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 433, Sec. 5. (AB 1832) Effective January 1, 2023.

(a)Notwithstanding Section 6890, the commission or a local trustee of granted public trust lands shall not grant leases or issue permits for the extraction or removal of hard minerals from state waters subject to tidal influence, except for waters situated east of the Carquinez Bridges on Interstate 80.

(b)(1) For purposes of this section, “hard minerals” means natural deposits of valuable minerals, including, but not limited to, metals and placer deposits of metals, nonmetallic minerals, gemstones, ores, gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, manganese, silica, chrome, platinum, tungsten, zirconium, titanium, garnet, and phosphorus.

(2)“Hard minerals” does not include rock, gravel, sand, silt, coal, oyster shells, or hydrocarbons.

(c)This section does not prohibit scientific research or collections conducted by, or on behalf of, an educational, scientific, or research institution or a governmental agency.