Title 38 — Mining and Gas and Oil Production

This chapter must be known as the North Dakota Coal Leasing Practices Act.

It is the intent of the legislative assembly of the state of North Dakota to exercise the legitimate police power of the state in order to protect the economic welfare of the citizens who rely for their livelihood on agricultural production and thereby protect the agricultural ec…

In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. "Advance royalty" means the offset contemplated which would allow payments for rent, bonuses, and damages under the terms of the lease to be deducted from the amount of the royalty due to the lessor when…

1. Any trust or escrow document relating to a coal lease, or any sight draft or other negotiable or non-negotiable instrument given as full or partial consideration for a coal lease, may authorize the first party to the document or instrument to reject the lease or refuse to hono…

No coal lease executed after April 9, 1975, is valid for a primary term of more than twenty years, unless operations for mining are taking place on the leased land within the primary term, or the land is subject to a valid mining permit, and for so long thereafter as coal is regu…

All advance royalty provisions contained in coal leases executed after April 9, 1975, must be specially explained to the lessor before the lessor executes the lease. The lessor shall execute an acknowledgment indicating the lessor's knowledge of the presence of the advance royalt…

The terms of a coal lease regulated by this chapter are hereby declared to be absolute and unwaivable by either party to the coal lease or to the mineral agreement, regardless of lease terms to the contrary. Any instrument which purports to waive the terms specified in this chapt…