Mineral Leasing Act of 1920

Last updated: 27 October 2022

This act dictates a system of leasing and developing for mining interests on federally-owned lands.
Provisions in the act include enabling entrance onto public lands to explore for minerals with permission of the government, enabling drilling and extraction of minerals with authority granted by the government and enabling the government to manage the exploitation of leasable minerals.
Additionally, the act enables the government to receive compensation from the lessee for the privilege of extracting minerals on federal public lands and requires monetary gains from the leasing of public lands to be divided three ways, except for in Alaska:
- 50% of gross revenues to states other than Alaska
- 40% of gross revenues to the Reclamation Fund
- 10% of gross revenues to the Federal Treasury.
In the state of Alaska, 90% of gross revenues go directly to the State of Alaska.

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