The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, to grant to any qualified applicant a prospecting permit which shall give the exclusive right to prospect for chlorides, sulphates, carbonates, borates, silicates, or nitrates of potassium in lands belonging to the United States for a period of not exceeding two years: Provided, That the area to be included in such a permit shall not exceed two thousand five hundred and sixty acres of land in reasonably compact form: Provided further, That the prospecting provisions of this subchapter shall not apply to lands and deposits in or adjacent to Searles Lake, California, which lands may be leased by the Secretary of the Interior under the terms and provisions of this subchapter.

Upon showing to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that valuable deposits of one of the substances enumerated in this subchapter has been discovered by the permittee within the area covered by his permit, and that such land is chiefly valuable therefor, the permittee shall be entitled to a lease for any or all of the land embraced in the prospecting permit, at a royalty of not less than 2 per centum of the quantity or gross value of the output of potassium compounds and other related products, except sodium, at the point of shipment to market, such lease to be taken in compact form by legal subdivisions of the public land surveys, or if the land be not surveyed, by survey executed at the cost of the permittee in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.

Lands known to contain valuable deposits enumerated in this subchapter and not covered by permits or leases shall be held subject to lease by the Secretary of the Interior through advertisement, competitive bidding, or such other methods as he may by general regulations adopt, and in such areas as he shall fix, not exceeding two thousand five hundred and sixty acres; all leases to be conditioned upon the payment by the lessee of such royalty as may be fixed in the lease, not less than 2 per centum of the quantity or gross value of the output of potassium compounds and other related products, except sodium, at the point of shipment to market, and the payment in advance of a rental of 25 cents per acre for the first calendar year or fraction thereof; 50 cents per acre for the second, third, fourth, and fifth years, respectively; and $1 per acre per annum thereafter during the continuance of the lease, such rental for any year being credited against royalties accruing for that year. Any lease issued under this subchapter shall be for a term of twenty years and so long thereafter as the lessee complies with the terms and conditions of the lease and upon the further condition that at the end of each twenty-year period succeeding the date of the lease such reasonable adjustment of the terms and conditions thereof may be made therein as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior unless otherwise provided by law at the expiration of such periods. Leases shall be conditioned upon a minimum annual production or the payment of a minimum royalty in lieu thereof, except when production is interrupted by strikes, the elements, or casualties not attributable to the lessee. The Secretary of the Interior may permit suspension of operations under any such leases when marketing conditions are such that the leases cannot be operated except at a loss. The Secretary upon application by the lessee prior to the expiration of any existing lease in good standing shall amend such lease to provide for the same tenure and to contain the same conditions, including adjustment at the end of each twenty-year period succeeding the date of said lease, as provided for in this subchapter. In the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior the area involved in any lease resulting from a prospecting permit may be exempt from any rental in excess of 25 cents per acre for twenty years succeeding its issue, and the production of potassium compounds under such a lease may be exempt from any royalty in excess of the minimum prescribed in this subchapter for the same period.

Prospecting permits or leases may be issued under the provisions of this subchapter for deposits of potassium in public lands, also containing deposits of coal or other minerals, on condition that such other deposits be reserved to the United States for disposal under appropriate laws: Provided, That if the interests of the Government and of the lessee will be subserved thereby, potassium leases may include covenants providing for the development by the lessee of chlorides, sulphates, carbonates, borates, silicates, or nitrates of sodium, magnesium, aluminum, or calcium, associated with the potassium deposits leased, on terms and conditions not inconsistent with the sodium provisions of subchapter VII of this chapter: Provided further, That where valuable deposits of mineral now subject to disposition under the general mining laws are found in fissure veins on any of the lands subject to permit or lease under this subchapter, the valuable minerals so found shall continue subject to disposition under the said general mining laws notwithstanding the presence of potash therein.

The general provisions of sections 182 to 184, 185 to 188, 189 to 192, 193, and 194 1

All money received from royalties and rentals from any lease issued or renewed under the provisions of subchapter VII of chapter 3 of this title, shall be paid into, reserved, and appropriated as follows: 52½ per centum to the Reclamation Fund, 10 per centum to the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts, and 37½ per centum shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury, after the expiration of each fiscal year, to the State within the boundaries of which the leased lands or deposits are or were located, such money to be used by such State or subdivision thereof for the construction and maintenance of public roads or for the support of schools or other public educational institutions, as the legislature of the State may direct.

Any prospecting permit issued under this subchapter may be extended by the Secretary of the Interior for a period not exceeding two years, upon a showing of satisfactory cause.