Act 509 of 1993 gave the Commissioner of State Lands office responsibility for the leasing and permitting of minerals on state owned lands. The leasing process begins when a company applies to our office for either a permit for sand and gravel removal or a lease for oil and gas. From there we research the parcel to insure it is on state owned land and that the agency that owns it approves of the application. The Commissioner then contacts the Natural Resources Committee who, alongside the Commissioner, approves or denies the applications and sets any terms and conditions as well as the minimum bid amounts for prospective companies.

This committee consists of nine (9) members including the Commissioner of State Lands who presides as Committee Chairman: the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration, the Director of Production and Conservations of the Oil and Gas Commission, the State Geologist, the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, the Executive Secretary of the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, the Secretary of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality and the Chair of the Natural Heritage Commission. If the committee approves the application it then goes out to bid by being published in the local and state newspapers and after twenty (20) days all bids that have been received are opened and read aloud at the Commissioner of State Lands office. The bid that meets the requirements and is in the best interest of the State is declared the winning bid and the company is notified. A company who holds a lease on state owned land and is operating on that lease must submit a monthly report along with the royalty check to the Commissioner of State Lands office.

The funds that the Commissioner collects are then sent to the State Treasury and from there are disbursed to the appropriate agency. In 2019 we received over $540,000 dollars in royalties that were turned over to the appropriate agencies and used to improve their services to the State.

Current applications that are available for bid can be found below. Arkansas statutes applicable to mineral leasing on state owned lands can be found here “Mineral Leasing Statutes” . If you would like more information on leasing minerals on state owned lands or would like to request a bid packet for a current application, please contact our Mineral Leasing Division at 501-683-5301 or by emailing minerals@cosl.org