Pros and Cons

• The benefit of selling mineral rights is that the seller can make some money. The major drawback is that when selling mineral rights, you are granting the purchaser access to your land to prospect for minerals. In the process of prospecting, the mineral rights owner may cause some surface damage to the property. Unless it is explicitly stated in a contract, the mineral rights owner may not be liable for the damages.
  
  

Determining Ownership

• Ownership of mineral rights is explicitly stated on a property's deed. The problem is, though, that if there are no notes on the current deed that the mineral rights remain in ownership of the landowner, it remains unknown who currently holds the mineral rights. To find out, the landowner will have to visit the local county courthouse and back-track through years of title deeds to see when/if mineral rights were severed from land-owner rights. This can be a long and complex process.
  
  

Assistance

• Professional landmen (see Resources) can help owners research mineral rights. These landmen are experts at researching and locating the mineral rights. The main drawback with hiring a landman is that they are expensive, and generally charge a per diem rate. However, if you are unable to pinpoint mineral rights ownership by yourself, this can be a worthwhile investment.
  
  

Tips

• If you own a property and want to find out if you also hold the assignment of the mineral rights, you can look for this information in your own records. If you own the property outright, you should have received the property's title. In the title, there should be notes relating to mineral rights ownership. If you have a mortgage, most likely the lender required you to purchase title insurance. The paperwork from the title insurer should contain a reference to mineral rights ownership.