§1417 Duration of Licenses and Permits

Summary

Exploration licenses last 10 years. If the license holder has mostly followed the license and its exploration plan and asks for more time, the Administrator must extend the license in line with the rules, in increments of no more than 5 years. Commercial recovery permits are issued for 20 years and stay valid as long as hard minerals are recovered each year in commercial amounts from the area. If no commercial recovery occurs by year 10, the permit ends unless the Administrator, for good cause (for example: force majeure, bad economy, unavoidable construction delays, major unexpected vessel repairs, or other events beyond the permittee’s control), extends the 10-year deadline but not past the original 20-year term.