Mineral Rights

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The privilege of gaining income from the sale of oil, gas, and other valuable resources found on land. Contrast surface rights, air rights.


Example: Abel purchases a property that contains underground oil deposits. Abel may:

• develop these mineral rights by drilling a well

• sell the rights for a price to an oil company

• lease the rights to an oil company in exchange for a royalty

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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

An interest in minerals in land, with or without ownership of the surface of the land. A right to take minerals or a right to receive a royalty.

Mineral right is a term encompassing all the ways a person can have a possessory interest in minerals in the ground. It includes the right to enter the land and occupy it in order to remove the minerals. Mineral rights can be retained when land is sold or conveyed, thus making it possible for someone to own the right to mine the minerals without owning the land. A right of entry onto the land can be held by the grantor who retains the mineral rights, or other arrangements can be made to gain access to the minerals. Mineral rights can be leased or sold. A landowner who leases mineral rights often receives a royalty, or a percentage of the value of the minerals which are mined by the leaseholder.

See: mine and mineral law.

A landowner's right to receive a portion of the profits of any minerals that are extracted from the land. Mineral rights apply to all types of resources, such as oil and gas, ores and metals or other raw materials. The term mineral rights describes the numerous beneficial ways the owner can profit from the resources in the ground.

Investopedia Says:

Mineral rights give the landowner the right to sell or profit from minerals extracted from the ground in several ways. They can be sold, developed or leased, depending upon the landowner's needs and desires. Many landowners allow oil or other mineral companies to extract the mineral from the ground in return for the royalty income from the revenue.

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