(1) In any sale of county lands made by any county acting through its board of county commissioners, a valid reservation of oil and gas and other minerals in such lands may be made when in the opinion of the board of county commissioners it is deemed to be for the best interest of the county. Oil and gas and other mineral rights or any of them thus reserved by a county upon the sale of such real estate may be sold by order of the board of county commissioners at public sale to the highest and best bidder after four weeks' prior notice by publication two times in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the land is situated, said notice to describe the oil and gas or other mineral rights to be sold, the location of the land involved, and the date, time, and place of such sale; but a copy of said notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, by the board of county commissioners to the owner of the surface at the time of such notice as shown by the records in the office of the county assessor of the county in which such lands are situated at the last-known address of such owner as shown by said books of the county assessor, and that a copy of said notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, by the board of county commissioners to the person in possession of the surface. (2) In the sale of reserved oil and gas rights under any tract of land, the number of acres contained in any one parcel or unit of sale of such rights shall not exceed the total number of acres of such surface land sold by the county to the purchaser thereof at the time of reservation therefrom of the oil and gas rights thus offered for sale. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent a county from selling any number of such units or parcels at any public sale. The board of county commissioners has the right to reject any and all bids. (3) Mineral rights, other than oil and gas, reserved as provided in this section may be leased for exploration, development, and production purposes upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed and contracted by the board of county commissioners in the exercise of its best judgment and as such board deems to be for the best interests of the county. Any such lease of mineral rights, other than oil and gas, shall be for a term not to exceed twenty-five years and as long thereafter as such minerals are produced. Leases of any such mineral rights made or entered into by the board in conformity with the provisions of this section prior to February 25, 1955, are hereby confirmed, validated, and declared to be legal and valid insofar as the authority of any such board is concerned.
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