Sec. 38.05.170. - Sulphur. - Alaska Statutes

(a) Under regulations adopted by the commissioner, the commissioner shall grant a prospecting permit for sulphur to a qualified applicant. The permit gives the applicant the exclusive right to prospect for sulphur, in land belonging to the state, for a period not exceeding two years. The area included in a permit may not exceed 2,560 acres of land in reasonably compact form. Upon showing to the satisfaction of the commissioner that valuable deposits of sulphur have been discovered by the permittee within the area covered by the permit, and that the land is chiefly valuable for these deposits, the permittee is entitled to a lease for all or a part of the land embraced in the prospecting permit, at a royalty of five percent of the quantity or gross value of the output of sulphur at the point of shipment to market. The commissioner may lease land known to contain valuable deposits of sulphur that is not covered by permits or leases through advertisement, competitive bidding, or other methods prescribed by regulation. The area covered by the lease may not exceed 2,560 acres.

(b) Each lease shall be conditioned upon the payment by the lessee of the royalty fixed in the lease and the payment in advance of a rental of 50 cents an acre a year. The rental for any one year shall be credited against the royalties accruing for that year.