Texas Administrative Code
Title 31 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
Part 1 - GENERAL LAND OFFICE
Chapter 10 - EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF STATE MINERALS OTHER THAN OIL AND GAS
Section 10.1 - Definitions; Exploration and Development Guide
Universal Citation: 31 TX Admin Code ยง 10.1
Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1)
Board--The School Land Board.
(2)
Commissioner--The commissioner of the General Land Office.
(3) GLO--The General Land Office.
(4) Land trade lands--Lands, the surface of
which have been sold or traded with mineral rights and leasing rights retained
by the state.
(5) Mineral--Any
naturally occurring inorganic or organic substance formed through geological
processes having a definite chemical composition or a range of characteristic
chemical compositions, and distinctive physical properties or molecular
structure, or an aggregate thereof, that may be extracted from the earth with
an expectation of profit. This includes, but is not limited to, base and
precious metals; industrial minerals, such as gypsum, sulphur, talc, etc.; coal
and lignite; construction materials such as granite, limestone, rhyolite and
other rock that may be quarried for dimension stone or crushed for aggregate;
or sand, gravel, caliche, clay and borrow material.
(6) Person--Any individual, partnership,
corporation, association, or other legal entity.
(7) PSF--The Permanent School Fund.
(8) PUF--The Public University
Fund.
(9) Relinquishment Act
lands--Any public free school or asylum lands, whether surveyed or unsurveyed,
sold with a mineral classification or reservation between September 1, 1895,
and August 21, 1931. For the purposes of this chapter and for convenience, the
term "Relinquishment Act lands" shall encompass any other lands, including
vacancy lands, patented with all minerals reserved to the state and expressly
made subject to the leasing terms and procedures governing Relinquishment Act
lands.
(10) Relinquishment Act
leases--Leases issued under the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 53,
Subchapter C, and §
10.5
of this title (relating to Mining Leases on Relinquishment Act
Lands).
(11) RRC--The Texas
Railroad Commission.
(12) SLB--The
School Land Board.
(13) Surface
mining--The mining of minerals by removing the overburden, if any, lying above
the natural deposit of minerals and mining directly from the natural deposits
that are exposed. The term does not include in situ mining
activities.
(14) TDC--The Texas
Department of Corrections.
(15)
TPWD--The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
(b) Exploration and development guide. For exploration and development for oil and gas, see Chapter 9 of this title (relating to Exploration and Leasing of State Oil and Gas). Minerals, other than oil and gas, underlying state lands are explored and leased in the following ways, depending upon the type of mineral and the type of land.
(1) PSF lands, upland.
(A) Coal, lignite, sulphur, salt, and potash:
leased by sealed bid by the SLB. See the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter
53, Subchapter E and I, and §
10.4
of this title (relating to Exploration and Mining Leases for Minerals Subject
to Sealed Bid).
(B) All other
minerals, explored and mined under prospect permits and leases issued by the
GLO. See the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 53, Subchapter B; §
10.2
of this title (relating to Prospect Permits on State Lands) and §
10.3
of this title (relating to Mining Leases on Properties Subject to
Prospect).
(2) PSF
lands, submerged, and state-owned riverbeds and channels.
(A) Coal, lignite, sulphur, salt, and potash:
subject to exploration under §
10.4
of this title (relating to Exploration and Mining Leases for Minerals Subject
to Sealed Bid). Leased by sealed bid by the SLB. See the Texas Natural
Resources Code, Chapter 53, Subchapter E; §
10.4
of this title (relating to Exploration and Mining Leases for Minerals Subject
to Sealed Bid).
(B) Marl, shell,
sand, gravel, and mudshell: mined under permit issued by the TPWD. See the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 86.
(C) All other minerals: subject to
exploration under §
10.2
of this title (relating to Prospect Permits on State Lands). Mined under leases
issued by the GLO. See the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 53, Subchapter
B; §
10.2
of this title (relating to Prospect Permits on State Lands) and §
10.3
of this title (relating to Mining Leases on Properties Subject to
Prospect).
(3)
Relinquishment Act lands. All minerals: leased by surface owner as agent for
the state. See the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 53, Subchapter C;
§
10.5
of this title (relating to Mining Leases on Relinquishment Act
Lands).
(4) Land trade lands.
(A) Coal, lignite, sulphur, salt, and potash:
leased by sealed bid by the SLB. See the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter
53, Subchapter E; §
10.4
of this title (relating to Exploration and Mining Leases for Minerals Subject
to Sealed Bid).
(B) All other
minerals, explored and mined under prospect permits and/or leases issued by the
GLO. See the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 53, Subchapter B; §
10.2
of this title (relating to Prospect Permits on State Lands) and §
10.3
of this title (relating to Mining Leases on Properties Subject to
Prospect).
(5) State
agency lands (except TPWD and TDC lands). All minerals: leased by sealed bid by
the SLB. See the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 32, Subchapters D and E;
Chapter 153 of this title (relating to Exploration and Development).
(6) TDC and TPWD lands. All minerals: leased
by sealed bid by the appropriate board for lease. See the Texas Natural
Resources Code, Chapter 34; §§
201.5-
201.8 of this title (relating to Land for Lease; Excluded Land; Lease Sale; and
Nominations of Tracts for Lease).
(7) PUF lands. All minerals: lease or
otherwise develop as decided by the board of regents. See the Texas Education
Code, §
66.44.
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