(1) A person who has obtained a prospecting permit shall not be allowed to leave the area specified in the permit for a period of four years in the case of minerals falling within the category of extremely important minerals or important and precious minerals, and two years in the case of minerals falling within the category of ordinary minerals.
(2) After the expiry of the period as per sub-rule (1), if the person who has obtained a search permit wishes to abandon some of the areas mentioned in the permit obtained by him, he shall submit an application to the department for the abandonment of the area.
(3) If an application is received in accordance with sub-rule (2), the department may give approval to the importer to waive the search area without reducing it to 0.25 square kilometers (about a tenth of a square mile).