80 



13 



1 technical and financial data relating to the quantity, qual- 



2 ity, composition volume, weight, and assay of all minerals 



3 extracted from the mining claim. Upon the request of any 



4 officer or employee duly designated by the Secretary or 



5 any State conducting an audit or investigation pursuant 



6 to this section, the appropriate records, reports, or infor- 



7 mation which may be required by this section shall be 



8 made available for inspection and duplication by such offi- 



9 cer or employee or State. 



10 (2) Records required by the Secretary under this sec- 



1 1 tion shall be maintained for 6 years after cessation of all 



12 mining activity at the claim concerned unless the Sec- 



13 retary notifies the operator that he or she has initiated 



14 an audit or investigation involving such records and that 



15 such records must be maintained for a longer period. In 



16 any case when an audit or investigation is underway, 



17 records shall be maintained until the Secretaiy releases 



18 the operator of the obligation to maintain such records, 



19 (d) Audits. — The Secretary is authorized to conduct 



20 such audits of all claim holders, operators, transporters, 



21 purchasers, processors, or other persons directly or indi- 



22 rectly involved in the production or sales of minerals cov- 



23 ered by this title, as the Secretary deems necessary for 



24 the purposes of ensuring compliance with the require- 



25 ments of this section. For purposes of performing such 



