Title 77, Title 77

(1) If a purchaser or assignee of state land defaults for a period of 30 days or more in the payment of any of the installments due on the certificate of purchase, the certificate is subject to cancellation. The department shall mail to the purchaser at the purchaser's last-known…

(1) In all cases in which a certificate of purchase of state lands has been canceled and annulled as provided by law and the lands under the certificate have not been resold to another purchaser, the board may in its discretion reinstate the canceled certificate upon: (a) proper …

Certificates of purchase may be assigned to a citizen of the United States or to a person who has declared an intention to become a citizen or to a corporation organized under the laws of this state. These assignments must be made on forms prescribed by the department, must be du…

If a certificate of purchase to state land is lost or is wrongfully withheld by any person from the owner of the land, the rightful owner may apply to the board for the issuance of a substitute certificate. This application must be accompanied by an affidavit from the owner of th…

(1) The state has a lien prior and superior to all other liens, except thresher's liens and seed liens as specified in 71-3-701 and 71-3-801, that have priority, but only for the aggregate amount of the indebtedness then existing, including any advances made, interest due, and ot…

(1) Except as provided in 77-2-362 and subsection (3) of this section, the proceeds from the state land sold, including all subsequent payments on the principal, must be credited to the permanent fund arising from the grant to which it belongs and must become and forever remain a…

When the purchase price has been paid in full together with interest according to the certificate, the owner thereof shall be entitled to receive a patent for the land under such certificate.

(1) The governor and, in the governor's absence or inability, the lieutenant governor shall execute deeds or patents of conveyance transferring without covenants any lands sold by the board under the laws of this state when full payment has been made for the land. (2) The deed or…

(1) Such deed or patent shall contain the reservation of easements for rights-of-way to the United States, reservation of all minerals in the land as provided in 77-2-304, and all other reservations to which the particular land conveyed is subject. (2) If the land is located with…

A certified copy of the record of any such deed or patent shall be received in evidence in all courts of record of this state the same as the original.

No action shall be brought to vacate or cancel any patent issued by the state after the expiration of 2 years from the date of such patent except upon the ground of fraud.

Notwithstanding any other section in this chapter, any lands may be sold to or exchanged for other land or for other consideration with another public entity on terms and in a manner that the board, after consultation with the appropriate legislative committee, may determine to b…

As used in 77-2-361 through 77-2-367, the following definitions apply: (1) "Isolated parcel" means any state land not possessing a legal right of access by the public. (2) "Land banking" means a process of selling various parcels of state land and using the proceeds from the sale…

(1) There is a state land bank fund. The proceeds from the sale of state trust land authorized by 77-2-361 through 77-2-367 must be deposited into the state land bank fund. The purpose of the state land bank fund is to temporarily hold proceeds from the sale of trust land pending…

(1) (a) The board may not cumulatively sell or dispose of more than 250,000 acres of state land. Seventy-five percent of the acreage cumulatively sold must be isolated parcels that do not have a legal right of access by the public. At any one time during the life of the land bank…

(1) The board may select and purchase, lease, receive by donation, hold in trust, or in any manner acquire for and in the name of the state of Montana, in trust for the beneficiaries specified in sections 10 through 19 of The Enabling Act of Congress (approved February 22, 1889, …

Nothing in 77-2-361 through 77-2-367 creates any express or implied right of access, right-of-way, or easement for the benefit of the board, the department, or any purchaser of state land over or through any other property.

County roads or easements for county roads on lands purchased from the state of Montana are subject to the provisions of Title 7, chapter 14, part 26, regarding the establishment, alteration, or abandonment of county roads.

(1) Prior to the sale or transfer of land in the state that is owned or controlled by an agency of the United States government, the director of the department shall determine whether there would be any impact on the management of state lands, on agricultural, wildlife, or recrea…

Any hearing required under 77-2-401 must be held in a county in which the land involved in the proposed sale or transfer is located and must be held according to procedural rules that must be adopted by the director of the department in accordance with the Montana Administrative …

The director of the department shall take action that the director considers appropriate, consistent with federal jurisdiction, to address concerns and issues raised during the hearing. The action may include but is not limited to: (1) the filing of formal requests for action by …

In this part the following definitions apply: (1) "Full market value" means the highest net value of products of mining operations in United States markets, less cost of transportation and refining, not including as a deduction any cost of producing or treating at the mine. (2) "…

(1) The board may, in its discretion and subject to the other provisions of this part, lease state lands, including the beds of navigable streams and the beds of navigable bodies of water and the reserved mineral rights of the state in lands sold or leased by the state, to any pe…

Prospecting permits without lease may be issued by the board upon the payment of the issuance fee under 77-1-302. The permittee shall also pay an annual fee established by the department and approved by the board at the end of each year during the life of the permit. A permit sha…

Upon the approval of an application for a prospecting permit or a mining lease under this part, the department shall promptly give written notice, by ordinary mail, to the permittee or lessee and to any holder of an agricultural or grazing lease embracing the same land or to any …

In case of the assignment of a mining lease or a prospecting permit by the holder thereof, the mining lessee or permittee executing the assignment is not relieved of any responsibility for operations under the lease or prospecting permit until: (1) the financial and moral respons…

All fees and penalties collected under this part shall be credited to the state general fund; all rentals shall be credited to the income fund of the grant to which the land belongs; and all moneys collected as royalties shall be credited to the permanent fund arising from the gr…

Application for a mining lease shall be made to the department on a form prescribed by it.

(1) Before the board leases any lands for the mining of metalliferous metals or gems, the department shall investigate the character of the lands and the nature and possible extent of the mineral deposits therein for the purpose of determining whether those lands are of such a ch…

A mining lease shall cover the quantity of ground the board determines to be reasonable and consistent with the character of the ground, the type of deposit or deposits for which the lands are to be mined, and the character and size of the operation contemplated, necessary, or re…

In the case of lands covered by a lease for the mining of coal, oil, or gas, no lease for the mining upon any such land for metalliferous minerals and/or gems shall be issued to any person, association of persons, or corporation, other than the holder of such coal, oil, or gas le…

(1) A lease may contain reasonable provisions for preliminary prospecting periods and must contain reasonable requirements for the prosecution of work during the prospecting period, if any, and for the prosecution of mining after the prospecting period. (2) The lease may provide …

In every mining lease the board shall reserve to the state a royalty which shall, together with other considerations to be paid by the mining lessee, constitute the full market value as ascertained by the board of the leasehold interest conveyed by the lease. This royalty may not…

The board, by agreement with the permittee or lessee, may, in its discretion and upon such terms as it considers best, amend or modify the terms and conditions within the limitations of this part or extend the term of any lease or prospecting permit issued under this part, subjec…

No mining lessee may, during any preliminary prospecting period contained in any lease, remove any metalliferous minerals or gems from the leased premises, except as are necessary for the proper testing and sampling of the lands or mineral rights, and except as are permitted by t…

The board may, at the time of the execution and delivery of a mining lease or at any time during the life of the lease, require a mining lessee to file with the department, for the benefit of the state, a bond or bonds conditioned to protect the rights of the state, particularly …

(1) If the lands at the time of the issuance of a mining lease have been sold, are under contract of sale, or have been leased for agricultural, grazing, or other purposes, the board shall provide against the infringement of the rights of the prior purchaser, contractee, or lesse…

(1) The board may enter into agreements for the pooling of acreage or yardage with others holding the mineral rights in adjoining lands for unit operation of placer mining and the apportionment of royalties on a cubic yardage or area basis in the case of placer mining deposits ly…

Any sale of state lands, any contract for the sale of state lands, and any lease of state lands made or issued by said board during the life of any mining lease issued under the provisions of this part shall be subject to such mining lease during the life thereof, and no bond sha…

In issuing mining leases, the board and the state have leased only such right, title, and interest as the state has in the lands, metalliferous minerals, or gems therein contained. Neither the state, the board, nor any representative, agent, or employee of the state or the board …

The department shall withhold from public inspection any information obtained from a mining lessee or permittee under this part if the information relates to proprietary geological information. The withholding is effective for as long as the department considers necessary, but in…

A permit shall be limited to prospecting for metalliferous minerals or gems and no permittee may remove from any lands or mineral rights covered by the permit any metalliferous minerals or gems except such as are necessary for the proper testing and sampling of the lands or miner…

(1) During the life of any permit the permittee may apply for a lease of the lands or mineral rights covered by the permit, and if a lease is granted it must be in the form and subject to all the terms and conditions specified in this part, as in the case of a mining lease issued…

When there are found upon state lands deposits of stone, limestone, oil shale, clay, bentonite, calcite, talc, mica, ceramic, asbestos, marble, diatomite, gravel or sand, or phosphate, sodium, potash, sulfur, fluorite or barite, or any other nonmetallic minerals, but not includin…

The fee for issuing the lease is the same as for an oil and gas lease.

(1) (a) Subject to subsections (1)(b) and (1)(c), a lease must be issued for: (i) a primary term of not less than 10 years and to be held by production for as long thereafter as nonmetallic minerals are produced in commercial quantities; or (ii) if the lands are subject to limita…