Any county which has acquired and conveyed or may hereafter acquire and convey any land for state park purposes and has retained or does retain the mineral rights thereunder may lease the same for oil, gas and other minerals either jointly or severally.

Such lease or leases may be made only after legal advertisement for bids therefor have been published once a week for three consecutive weeks in some newspaper having a general circulation in the county. It shall be necessary to describe the property in the advertisement by its popular name and by giving a definite legal description by metes and bounds. Said lease, with the legal description of the property set out therein, shall be executed to the highest and best bidder therefore on all the tract involved and shall contain a provision therein that no part of the property involved in said lease shall be dropped during the lifetime of said lease, which shall not be for a longer period than ten years, unless production in commercial quantities results, and that if the delay rentals are not paid on all the property then said lease in its entirety shall become null and void. No lease shall become effective after its acceptance by the board of supervisors until the same shall have the written approval of the state mineral lease commission and the Mississippi Board of Park Examiners affixed thereto.

From the proceeds arising from the execution of the original lease there shall be paid all cost of advertising herein required and other expenses necessary and incident to the execution thereof, and any balance then remaining on hand and accruing thereafter as a result of the rents, profits and income accruing from the lease shall be used, first, to build necessary bridges in the particular park property affected and, second, any balance then remaining on hand shall be used to call or pay any county-wide bonds now or hereafter outstanding and, third, if there be no outstanding county-wide bonds, then such balance shall be paid into the general funds of the county.

Whenever production in commercial quantities is made on any property involved in such lease, the lessee shall not be required to pay delay rentals thereafter so long as such production continues.

The proceeds to be paid to the county from the production of the oil, gas or other minerals shall be subject to all severance taxes imposed by law, just the same as if the county was an individual or corporation.

The lessee shall be liable for all damages to property incurred by any operation in carrying out the terms of said lease.

Nothing in this section shall in any way be construed to limit, abrogate, or otherwise restrict any right, title, or interest in the State of Mississippi.