§121 — Title 30 Mineral Lands and Mining | U.S. Code

§121 Agricultural entry or purchase of lands withdrawn or classified as containing phosphate, nitrate, potash, oil, or gas; reservations to United States; application

Title 30 › Chapter CHAPTER 3— - LANDS CONTAINING COAL, OIL, GAS, SALTS, ASPHALTIC MATERIALS, SODIUM, SULPHUR, AND BUILDING STONE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER V— - AGRICULTURAL ENTRY OF LANDS WITHDRAWN OR CLASSIFIED AS CONTAINING PHOSPHATE, NITRATE, POTASH, OIL, GAS, ASPHALTIC MINERALS, SODIUM, OR SULPHUR › § 121

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Land set aside or classified as having (or valuable for) phosphate, nitrate, potash, oil, gas, or asphaltic minerals can still be claimed, located, or bought under nonmineral land laws if it’s available. The United States keeps ownership of those mineral deposits and the right to search for, mine, and remove them, and applications must say they are made under and subject to those reservations.

Title 30, §121

Mineral Lands and Mining — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Lands withdrawn or classified as phosphate, nitrate, potash, oil, gas, or asphaltic minerals, or which are valuable for those deposits, shall be subject to appropriation, location, selection, entry, or purchase, if otherwise available, under the nonmineral land laws of the United States, whenever such location, selection, entry, or purchase shall be made with a view of obtaining or passing title with a reservation to the United States of the deposits on account of which the lands were withdrawn or classified or reported as valuable, together with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove the same. All applications to locate, select, enter, or purchase under this section shall state that the same are made in accordance with and subject to the provisions and reservations of sections 121 to 123 of this title.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1955—Act June 16, 1955, removed 160-acre limitation on desert entry.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Additional Desert-Land EntryIncrease of limitation with respect to desert entries to 320 acres, see note set out under section 83 of this title.