When purchasing a plot of land or a house on a plot of land, the buyer must look at exactly what rights go with that land, Those may be only "surface rights" --meaning the buyer acquires control of the land surface but may not be able to drill wells or extract minerals. For that, she must hold "mineral rights." The most common type of mineral rights arrangement is a mining lease, enabling the lessee to extract the minerals for a certain period of time.
Instructions
1. Research geological surveys and interview mining operators and other companies that specialize in mineral deposit locations to find property that has minerals beneath it. Your local property records office can help you get started.
2. Perform a title search on the property to discover who holds the mineral rights to the land. Visit the property records office and ask for help if you need it. Typically, you search backwards in time according to the last names of the people who transferred and received the property.
3. Contact the mineral rights owner and ask if he is willing to sell or lease you the rights.
4. Negotiate the transaction. Discuss how long you want the rights for, how you intend to extract the minerals, and other items such as how much you will pay for the rights and whether the owner will receive any royalties on profit made from selling the minerals.
5. Reach an agreement and tender the purchase price. Comply with the terms of the agreement.
Tags: mineral rights, extract minerals, office help, plot land, property records, property records office
