(a) Public lands classified or proposed to be classified for retention for multiple-use management will be segregated from those forms of disposal which, if the lands remain open thereto, could:

(1) Interfere significantly with the management of the lands under principles of multiple use and sustained yield, or

(2) Impair or prevent, to an appreciable extent, realization of public values in the lands, or

(3) Impair or prevent, to an appreciable extent, realization of the objectives of retention and management set forth in part 2420, or

(4) Lead to unnecessary expenditures of public or private funds arising out of individual efforts to acquire public lands under laws, which are in fact not applicable, because of the nature of the resources of the lands.

(b) In applying the criteria in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, land shall not be closed to mining location unless the nonmineral uses would be inconsistent with and of greater importance to the public interest than the continued search for a deposit of valuable minerals.