MINING PRACTICE. 99 



13. Period of Lease. — The maximum term for which a mining 

 lease will be granted is 30 years. 



14. Fees — (i)Royalty. — A royalty of 5 per cent, ad valorem 

 shall be charged on all mica removed from any mine. Estimates of 

 the value of mica, according to the size of the plates in which it is 

 removed, will be framed from time to time, and each lessee shall be 

 liable to pay the amount of royalty due as calculated on the assump- 

 tion that all the mica removed from his mine is the best of its size 

 and will fetch the estimated value ; if any lessee prefers to defer 

 payment of royalty until the actual sale price is known, he will be 

 allowed to do so on furnishing a deposit sufficient to cover the 

 amount of royalty payable at the schedule rates. If a lessee, who 

 has paid rovalty at the schedule rates, produces within one year from 

 the date of despatch from the mine, a shipper's certificate in the 

 prescribed form showing the actual receipts for sales of mica under 

 each dimension, he will be allowed to recover any royalty paid in 

 excess. Where the removals are in the first instance covered by 

 deposits, royalty at the schedule rates will be levied if the certificate 

 above referred to is not submitted within the prescribed period of 

 one year. 



On application being made to the Board any house of business 

 of assured standing in the City of Madras will be authorised to grant 

 shipper's certificates. 



As a tentative measure royalty will be calculated on the scale 

 drawn up by the Board. 



15. (ii) Dead-rent. — The lessee shall also pay for every year after 

 the first year an annual dead-rent of one rupee per acre provided 

 that no lessee shall pay both royalty and dead-rent in respect of the 

 same lease but only such one of them as may be the greater in amount. 



16. (Hi) Surface rent. — The lessee shall also pay for all land 

 which he may take up, use, or occupy for the purpose of the mine 

 a surface rent equal to the land assessment in the case of classified 

 and assessed lands and a uniform rate of one rupee per acre in the 

 case of unassessed and poramboke lands. 



j 7. Size of Blocks.— The length of a block shall not be allowed 

 to exceed 4 times its breadth nor shall its extent be less than 3 acres 

 or more than half a square mile. A mining lease may be granted 

 over one or more such blocks, provided that the total area held 

 under mining leases by the lessee, or by those joint in interest with 

 him, does not exceed ten square miles. 



18. Surrender of leases and applications for larger areas. — It 

 will be open to the Collector to allow a lessee to give up his origi- 

 nal lease and take out a new one embracing a larger area, provided 

 the prescribed limits as regards time and area are not exceeded. 



( 89 ) 



