§ 2098 — Public And Acquired Lands

(a) No individual, corporation, partnership, or association, which had any part, directly or indirectly, in the development of the atomic energy program, may benefit by any location, entry, or settlement upon the public domain made after such individual, corporation, partnership, or association took part in such project, if such individual, corporation, partnership, or association, by reason of having had such part in the development of the atomic energy program, acquired confidential official information as to the existence of deposits of such uranium, thorium, or other materials in the specific lands upon which such location, entry, or settlement is made, and subsequent to August 30, 1954, made such location, entry, or settlement or caused the same to be made for his, or its, or their benefit. (b) Any reservation of radioactive mineral substances, fissionable materials, or source material, together with the right to enter upon the land and prospect for, mine, and remove the same, inserted pursuant to Executive Order 9613 of September 13, 1945, Executive Order 9701 of March 4, 1946, the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, or Executive Order 9908 of December 5, 1947, in any patent, conveyance, lease, permit, or other authorization or instrument disposing of any interest in public or acquired lands of the United States, is released, remised, and quitclaimed to the person or persons entitled upon August 19, 1958 under the grant from the United States or successive grants to the ownership, occupancy, or use of the land under the applicable Federal or State laws: Provided, however, That in cases where any such reservation on acquired lands of the United States has been heretofore released, remised, or quitclaimed subsequent to August 12, 1954, in reliance upon authority deemed to have been contained in the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, as amended, or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 [42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.], as heretofore amended, the same shall be valid and effective in all respects to the same extent as if public lands and not acquired lands had been involved. The foregoing release shall be subject to any rights which may have been granted by the United States pursuant to any such reservation, but the releases shall be subrogated to the rights of the United States. (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, as amended, and particularly section 5(b)(7) thereof, or the provisions of sections 501 to 505 of title 30, and particularly section 503 of title 30, any mining claim, heretofore located under the mining laws of the United States, for or based upon a discovery of a mineral deposit which is a source material and which, except for the possible contrary construction of said Atomic Energy Act, would have been locatable under such mining laws, shall, insofar as adversely affected by such possible contrary construction, be valid and effective, in all respects to the same extent as if said mineral deposit were a locatable mineral deposit other than a source material.