Alaska Administrative Code › Title 11 - Natural Resources › Part 6 - Lands › Chapter 86 - Mining Rights › Article 6 - Offshore Permits and Leases › 11 AAC 86.530 - Conversion of an offshore prospecting permit to a mining lease

Current through May 31, 2024
(a) At any time
				  while an offshore prospecting permit is in effect, the permittee is entitled to
				  a noncompetitive mining lease on that part of the permit area that has been
				  shown to the satisfaction of the director to contain workable mineral deposits.
				  The leased land will be described by legal subdivision according to the
				  official survey or to the official protraction diagram approved by the Bureau
				  of Land Management or the Department of Natural Resources.
(b) An application to convert a permit to a
				  noncompetitive mining lease must be filed in accordance with
				  11 AAC 88.105. If the application
				  is filed before the permit expires, the permit's expiration is postponed while
				  the application is being processed. Until processing is completed, the
				  permittee retains all rights specified in the permit until otherwise notified
				  by the department, and the locatable minerals in the land described in the
				  conversion application remain segregated from filing under other offshore
				  prospecting permit applications or as mining locations. There is no further
				  rental obligation after the original expiration date. A decision denying
				  conversion to a lease will be accompanied by a written explanation of the
				  grounds for the denial.
(c) A
				  permittee applying to convert the permit to an offshore mining lease has the
				  burden of demonstrating to the director's satisfaction that each of the
				  requirements for the issuance of a lease has been met, and shall provide
				  sufficiently reliable and detailed economic, geophysical, geologic, and
				  engineering data to enable the director to make a knowledgeable decision. The
				  following information must be submitted in support of the lease application:
(1) an estimate of reserves, including a
				  statement of whether these reserves are measured, indicated, or inferred,
				  together with sufficient geologic, geophysical, and engineering data to
				  substantiate the reserve estimates;
(2) the average grade of recoverable
				  reserves, including a discussion of the sample density, sample collection
				  technique, sample preparation, and analytical testing methods;
(3) topographic, geologic, or ocean floor
				  maps that clearly show the location of all samples, trenches, drill holes, and
				  geophysical surveys, and the outline of the ore body;
(4) a description of the probable mining and
				  recovery methods;
(5) an economic
				  appraisal of the proposed mining operation that estimates both the revenue from
				  the sale of the ore and the costs of mine development and of extracting,
				  milling, transporting, and marketing the ore;
(6) an evaluation of toxic materials that
				  naturally occur in the proposed mining area and proposed methods to control the
				  release of those materials;
(7) any
				  additional documentation required by the director to assist in evaluating the
				  conversion of a prospecting permit to a lease.