2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-EIGHT - Public Lands (§§ 1 — 737) › PART I - Lands Generally; Mines (§§ 1 — 226) › Chapter 7 - Mines (§§ 110 — 125-180) › § 116 - Prospecting permits

The Commission may issue both of the following types of prospecting permits:
(a) Exclusive prospecting permits.— Exclusive prospecting permits may be granted for the purpose of protecting priority rights while considering subsequent leases of a prospecting area or of any part thereof, under the following conditions:
(1) The permit shall be limited to one specific mineral unless it is granted for several minerals due to their close mineral relationship or to any other substantial reason.
(2) The permit shall be limited as to area, which shall be fixed by the Commission according to the circumstances in each case and taking into account, among other factors, the type of mineral or minerals sought, the estimated availability of same if such estimation is possible at that stage, and the commercial value of the said mineral or minerals, as well as the nature and the cost of the prospecting proposed by the applicant of the permit.
(3) The terms and conditions of the subsequent lease may be negotiated and determined jointly with the granting or renewal of an exclusive permit. This shall not be construed as a limitation to the power of the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources to impose, at the time of granting the lease, such additional terms and conditions as he may deem necessary to carry out the exploitation of the commercial minerals pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. In cases where [prospecting] permits are required for mining, an advise shall be posted to prohibit open pit extractions or strip mining.
(4) The permit shall be granted for the term of one year and may be renewed for not more than nine (9) subsequent periods of one year each provided, the Commission understands that the permit holder has substantially complied with the provisions of this chapter and the regulations that may be promulgated thereunder, with any special rules and orders of the Commission and with all the provisions and conditions of the permit, he shall be entitled to the renewal of the permit requested from the Commission.
(5) A fee of two hundred dollars ($200) a year shall be collected for each permit.
(6) The permit entails the right to enter upon private property.
(7) Under this permit, samples may be taken only at the surface of the prospecting area, though such samples may include borings obtained by means of hand augers. Activities requiring the use of powered vehicles, earth movers, drills, or other equipment which affects the soil or the crops, may be carried out by the prospector only with the express permission of the Commission, but in all cases it shall be necessary to obtain first the permission of the owner of the land in writing, and to compensate him for all such damages as he may sustain. The Commission may require the prospector to give bond acceptable to the Commission in such amount as the latter may deem necessary to pay the owner of the land for the damages in cases where the soil, buildings or crops suffer damages or reduction in value. The owner of the property may submit to the Commission any grievances he has with regard to the activities of a prospector and may request of the Commission that it determine, through arbitration, and at no cost to him, the extent of any damages sustained by him as a result of such activities.
(8) The prospector shall submit a semiannual report in writing of the results of his operations, which report shall be kept strictly confidential until the expiration of his prospecting permit unless the lease provided in the permit meantime becomes effective.
(9) Within the three (3) months following the expiration of the permit, the prospector shall, unless the lease has become effective, submit to the Commission a copy of all maps, measurements, assays, and other information obtained as a result of the prospecting carried out and of possible value in determining the existence or absence of mineral deposits in the prospecting area. Such information shall be made available to the public. This obligation is imposed upon the prospector as a part of the consideration attaching to an exclusive permit, and until same is fully fulfilled he shall be barred from obtaining any mining benefit whatsoever under this chapter.
(b) Non-exclusive permit.— The non-exclusive permit entails the conditions enumerated under clauses (6), (7), (8) and (9) of subsection (a) of this section, but shall not be limited as to the size of the prospecting area or to any specific mineral. This permit does not entail advance lease rights and the prospector may not negotiate the terms and conditions of the lease prior to discovery of a mineral and application for a lease for the exploitation thereof. This permit may be granted by the Executive Secretary with the approval of the Chairman of the Commission; it shall be granted for the term of one year and may be renewed for subsequent one-year periods.
History —Aug. 18, 1933, No. 9, p. 32, § 5; Oct. 6, 1954, No. 6, p. 48, § 1; June 14, 1957, No. 47, p. 107; June 10, 1959, No. 26, p. 84, § 1; June 27, 1969, No. 96, p. 257, § 5; Oct. 29, 1975, No. 10, p. 766, § 4A; June 30, 1995, No. 73, § 4.