The value of land isn't always in the well-kept yard or proximity to a lake or river for recreation. It can also include minerals underneath the surface that are worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. In order to benefit from that value, you must own the mineral rights to your land, not just the rights to the surface.
Definition
Mineral rights are owning the rights to minerals under the surface of a piece of land. Owning these rights allows you to drill and mine for them or not, depending on your preference. You can sell or lease them as well, should a mineral company want to recover the material. In the United States, mineral rights often accompany surface rights so that when you buy a piece of land, you're buying rights to what's on the surface and what's underneath. However, it is possible to sever the two. Whether you are acquiring mineral rights when you buy land should be listed in the deed or on other paperwork, which should be on record with the local government.
Minerals
Minerals are anything below the surface. However, no official definition exists. Oil and natural gas might be minerals, along with coal, clay, silver, gold, copper, natural gas, salt and any other material below the surface. Sales agreements and leases must clarify what exactly is meant by "mineral" because vague wording can lead to legal disagreements when it comes time to drill or mine.
Surface Vs. Subsurface
A sale of land in the United States that includes the mineral rights is called a fee simple estate. Geology.com notes that as drilling and mining techniques became more sophisticated, it became possible to split rights to the surface and to underground areas, and now you can find that when you buy land, you can buy only the surface because someone else gained the mineral, or subsurface, rights separately. Mineral companies can determine that a coal vein or gas shale is under the land and then send people out to locate the mineral rights owner to negotiate a sale or lease to explore. This can be profitable for the mineral rights holders, but not for those who own only the surface rights.
Environmental Cautions
Drilling and mining for minerals can adversely affect other natural resources in the area as well as the quality of life for those living on the surface. Handle negotiations for mineral rights carefully, especially if you have a well. Geology.com notes the recovery activity can damage aquifer walls, allowing water to drain into other underground cavities, which reduces the amount of water available to wells. Removing underground material might also result in settling and cracking of the surface. This is a particular concern because it might not happen immediately. Instead, it might happen years after the company recovering the minerals has closed, leaving no recourse for the surface owner.
Warning
Those who own only surface rights might be at the mercy of those who own the mineral rights, depending on state laws. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported in 2006 that severed mineral rights caused some landowners to have no say when dealing with companies setting up natural gas wells on the land, permanently stopping any plans those landowners had to develop the surface.
Tags: mineral rights, mineral rights, only surface, surface rights, below surface, Definition Mineral
