The operator shall file with the Department of Mines and Mineral Industries¹ a bond for each operation on a form to be prescribed and furnished by the department payable to the Commonwealth and conditioned that the operator shall faithfully perform all the requirements of this act. The bond shall be in the amount of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) per acre nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per acre based upon the number of acres of land in such operation which the operator estimates will be the area of land affected by strip mining during one (1) year immediately following the date of the permit issued by the department. If following an examination of the maps and cross-sections submitted the secretary deems it necessary to increase the amount of bond in excess of five hundred dollars ($500) per acre, he shall stipulate the amount of bond per acre required: Provided, That no bond shall be for an amount less than five thousand dollars ($5,000). Liability under the bond shall be for the duration of strip mining at each operation and for a period of five years thereafter, unless released prior thereto, in the manner hereinafter provided by this act.

Such bond shall be signed by the operator and a corporate surety licensed to do business in the Commonwealth: Provided, however, That in lieu of a surety bond the operator may file a collateral bond secured by cash in the form of a certified or cashier's check or negotiable bonds of the United States Government or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the General State Authority, the State Public School Building Authority, or any municipality within the Commonwealth. The cash deposited or the market value of such securities shall be equal at least to the amount of the required bond and shall be held upon the same terms and conditions.

The Secretary of Mines and Mineral Industries shall, upon receipt of any such deposit of cash or securities, immediately deposit the same with the State Treasurer, whose duty it shall be to receive and hold the same in the name of the Commonwealth for the purpose for which such deposit is made. The State Treasurer shall at all times be responsible for the safe-keeping of such deposits.

Any operator making such deposits shall be entitled to receive from the State Treasurer, on written order of the Secretary of Mines and Mineral Industries, the whole or any portion of any securities so deposited, upon depositing with the department, in lieu thereof, a surety bond or other negotiable securities of the classes herein specified having a market value at least equal to the sum required for a bond as aforesaid.

The operator shall also be entitled upon request to receive from the State Treasurer the interest or income from said securities deposited as aforesaid as the same become due and payable: Provided, however, That where securities deposited, as aforesaid, mature or are called, the State Treasurer, at the request of the operator, shall convert such securities into other acceptable securities designated by the operator.