(a) BLM will reject your application for a preference right lease if:

1. (1) You did not discover a valuable deposit of mineral(s) covered by the prospecting permit;
2. (2) You did not submit requested information in a timely manner;
3. (3) You did not otherwise comply with the requirements of this subpart; or
4. (4) In the case of sodium, potassium and sulphur, if BLM determines that the lands are not chiefly valuable for the mineral commodity specified in the permit.

(b) If you applied for a lease for minerals BLM administers under the authority of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1946, BLM may also reject your application if we determine that mining is not the preferred use of the lands in the application. In making this determination, we will consider:

1. (1) The land use plan;
2. (2) Unsuitability criteria under subpart 1610 of this title;
3. (3) Any environmental impacts; and
4. (4) The purposes of the statute under which the lands were acquired.