The Act of April 23, 1932 (47 Stat. 136; 43 U.S.C. 154), authorizes the Secretary of the Interior in his discretion to open to location, entry and patent under the general mining laws with reservation of rights, ways and easements, public lands of the United States which are known or believed to contain valuable deposits of minerals and which are withdrawn from development and acquisition because they are included within the limits of withdrawals made pursuant to section 3 of the reclamation Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388; 43 U.S.C. 416).
Application to open lands to location under the Act may be filed by a person, association or corporation qualified to locate and purchase claims under the general mining laws. The application must be executed in duplicate and filed in the proper office, must describe the land the applicant desires to locate, by legal subdivision if surveyed, or by metes and bounds if unsurveyed, and must set out the facts upon which is based the knowledge or belief that the lands contain valuable mineral deposits, giving such detail as the applicant may be able to furnish as to the nature of the formation, kind and character of the mineral deposits. Each application must be accompanied by the filing fee for application to open lands to location found in the fee schedule in § 3000.12 of this chapter.
[35 FR 9744, June 13, 1970, as amended at 72 FR 50889, Sept. 5, 2007]
When the application is received in the Bureau of Land Management, if found satisfactory, the duplicate will be transmitted to the Bureau of Reclamation with request for report and recommendation. In case the Bureau of Reclamation makes an adverse report on the application, it will be rejected subject to right of appeal.
If in the opinion of the Bureau of Reclamation the lands may be opened under the Act without prejudice to the rights of the United States, the report will recommend the reservation of such ways, rights and easements considered necessary or appropriate, and/or the form of contract to be executed by the intending locator or entryman as a condition precedent to the vesting of any rights in him, which may be necessary for the protection of the irrigation interests.