How to Acquire Mineral Rights
- 1). Inherit rights. This is the easiest way to acquire them. Keep in mind, however, that mineral rights can be severed from surface rights. If this occurred with regard to a particular piece of property, inheritance of the land may not convey rights to the minerals if they were not held by your benefactor. Also, it is possible to inherit mineral rights without the surface rights. But, because rights to individual minerals can be separated from the rights to others, inheritance of rights to some minerals may not include rights to them all.
- 2). Research the property title. Whether you have inherited rights or are looking to buy them, research the title to know with any certainty who owns the mineral rights associated with any particular property. This is traditionally done at the county recorder's office at the local courthouse. Additionally, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management offers an online database called GeoCommunicator, which contains records of leases, permits, contracts, grants and agreements regarding minerals under federally owned land. The Official Federal Land Records Site provides information on mineral patents, which are grants of mineral rights from the federal government to private individuals, dating back to 1810.
- 3). Bid to lease. When it is clear who owns the desired rights, one way to acquire them is to make an offer to lease the rights. A lease establishes the right to test for minerals, including access to the surface of the land for this purpose, during a limited period of time. Mineral leases typically offer the owner of the rights royalties of at least one-eighth of any wealth derived from the leased minerals, an agreement that can usually be renewed as long as the property is producing.
- 4). Purchase the rights outright if you want to acquire them on a more permanent basis. This could involve purchase of surface rights as well or be strictly limited to rights on one or two specific minerals. The initial cost of purchasing is higher than leasing, but it avoids the necessity of paying of royalties on the eventual mineral wealth, if any.
Source...