One of the common things that used to happen in many countries before industrialization came about was that mineral resources were given to individuals or organization. This kind of ownership gave owners of property both mineral rights and surface rights. In short, if any mineral was found on the sub-surface or on the surface of the land, it belonged to the owner of the land. This means the owner could do anything he wanted: he could sell the land, lease it (either partially or wholly) or give it as a gift. The land was his to do as he wished.
As we speak, all this has changed. Many countries have come up with strict laws concerning mineral rights. Laws have also been drafted to monitor how mining and drilling activities are carried out.
Let us use an example. If you want to mine oil and gas on your land, the most important thing to do is to know what the State Law says about mining in your area. Sometimes the State Law is not easily understandable. This is where you seek legal advice from a lawyer within your state who can enlighten you on the regulations and rules concerning mining of oil and gas in the state you reside in.
If you are a company that wants to explore the minerals in a certain area, you normally have 2 options: to buy mineral rights or to lease mineral rights.
Generally, buying mineral rights is very expensive and difficult. You will find that many companies do not opt for buying mineral rights because of the uncertainty of the amount of mineral that they will get when drilling activities begin. It is for this reason that you will find companies opting to purchase mineral rights on lease.
The mineral rights lease is basically a contract that allows a company to explore the land and see whether it has potential for producing minerals for a long time. If the company finds the project viable, they can proceed with the mining activities. Once the lease expires and the company carrying out the mining stops its activities then the owner regains the rights.
In this minding industry, there are some individuals who act as brokers. What they do is to purchase land which has minerals from individual landowners then lease the land to companies that carry out mining activities. Landowners should be aware of such people so that they don't get conned.
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