Prospects for full development of the mineral resources of the Papago Indian Reservation in southern Arizona are now better than ever, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall reported today.
On August 2, Secretary Udall said, bonus bids totaling $13,444 were received by the Papago Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for two-year prospecting permits with options to lease on three tracts comprising 47,120 acres of tribally owned land. Trans-Arizona Resources submitted a bid of $11,204 on one tract of 18,560 acres. Metals Engineering Company bid $1,120 on each of the other two tracts comprising 9,920 and 18,640 acres.
If these bids are accepted by the Papago Tribal Council, it would bring the entire reservation of nearly three million acres under active mineral prospecting permit for the first time. A three-year permit with option to lease covering the main body of the reservation, apart from the three tracts just offered, was granted on July 13 to Hunting Geophysical Services, Inc.
The options to lease granted with the prospecting permits are subject to valid existing rights on the reservation lands. The prospecting permits cover all minerals other than oil and gas.
