Do You Own the Mineral Rights Under Your Land?

https://www.newson6.com/story/5e3655682f69d76f6206b2cf/osage-nation-asks-federal-judge-to-stop-wind-turbine-farm

https://www.kosu.org/energy-environment/2023-09-27/deja-vu-legal-saga-of-osage-county-windfarm-continues

..."Osage Wind is a subsidiary of Italian energy giant Enel S.p.A. through its U.S.-based renewables subsidiary, Enel Green Power North America.

In 2010, Osage Wind leased surface rights to about 8,400 acres of private land in Osage County to install 84 wind turbines and began digging large holes for placement of the turbines. The project included digging 84 holes up to 30 feet deep and 60 feet in diameter apiece; extracting more than 60,000 cubic yards of limestone, dolomite, and other materials; and then crushing the material to fill and cover the excavated sites.

Feds Quit, Tribe Stepped Up

The Obama administration sued on behalf of the Osage Nation over the mineral extraction activities, claiming treaty provisions and relevant law required either a permit from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) acting on behalf of the Osage Nation, or approval from OMC. In a summary judgment, the Northern District Court of Oklahoma rejected the administration’s claims and allowed Osage Wind to conduct excavation work without BIA or OCM approval.

The Osage Wind project was completed before the appeal, and the turbines began operating even as the case was being litigated.

When the government declined to appeal on behalf of the tribe, OCM intervened and took the case to the 10^th Circuit Court. In September 2017, a three-judge panel consisting of judges appointed by Presidents Reagan, Clinton, and Obama unanimously agreed with the tribe the excavation work constituted mining and therefore required a lease."...

https://heartland.org/opinion/supreme-court-upholds-osage-nation-in-wind-farm-dispute/

30 feet deep is close to three stories underground. Few surface constructions have three-story basements or foundations. Limestone and dolomite are common bedrock minerals. Excavating or drilling through bedrock is plausibly considered mining. The lawyers for the company that owns these turbines made a big mistake.

You are correct.

What is a simplified definition of mining?

Mining is the process of extracting useful materials from the earth.

National Geographic, though not a legal entity…

the guarantee winners of this are the attorneys on both sides.

It varies by jurisdiction:

• In England and Wales, where the law is common to both, mineral extraction rights for a freehold property extend from the footprint of the property tapering down to a point at the centre of the Earth. It is not the case for a leasehold property, such rights deferring to the landowner. Known mining activities in the area form part of the search that the Conveyancer carries out on the prospective owner's behalf prior to the transaction taking place.
• The law is different in Scotland and in Northern Ireland.
• Etc.

In England and Wales, where the law is common to both, mineral extraction rights for a freehold property extend from the footprint of the property tapering down to a point at the centre of the Earth.

There's got to be some useful purpose for that molten rock down there...

There's an opposite case in the paper today. Some people who have a very long lease on a property were granted planning permission to create a rooftop structure (sun room or something). The freeholder is going to court to prevent this on the basis that they own the air space above the property & the development will intrude into their air space.

I hope to see the outcome in future news. Once again, the lawyers are the winners.

Didn’t see the video, but I’ll share my opinion.

Question;

Do You Own the Mineral Rights under Your Land...?

my opinion;

only when it’s legally challenged,

Agree with phoenix911..

"We are a nation of Laws... randomly enforced".. Frank Zappa

In the example provided, the wind turbine company wasn't expecting to be challenged and lose under mining laws of the area. The company 'assumed'. So far the company has lost.

If I try to clarify assumptions made by my spouse .. it annoys my spouse.

When money is involved, I chose to annoy.

Observations:

1) Money changes assumptions.

2) Often the only 'winners' are the lawyers.

From a layman's point of view, it would have made a lot more sense if they had figured it out before they built all the windmills. Just sayin'

In Texas, you may or may not own the rights to minerals under your land. Depends on how the deed was written. In many oil producing areas, mineral ownership may go back several generations. There is an oil well 600 feet from my back door, but I don't have mineral rights.

Many years ago in our city, drilling was banned in the city limits. People let the mineral rights go when the surface property was sold because there wouldn't be any drilling in the future. Along comes horizontal drilling and guess what? Lots of homeowners that thought minerals under their land were worthless are now getting royalty checks from the oil companies.

The mineral owner has the right to drill, mine, or whatever to gain access to their minerals. They must pay damages to the surface owner for any roads, pipelines, etc. that they build to get those minerals out.

If they find drugs - they are yours, but if you find minerals or oil, or something valuable - it is not yours, but the state's!

It’s interesting, if there’s an abandon under ground fuel tank, it’s the property owners responsibility.

This is ridiculous, in my view. As I see it, mining means extracting something valuable from the ground for use, usually elsewhere. Since they crushed the rock and left it there, they didn't extract anything.

From the computer's dictionary:

"noun 1 the process or industry of obtaining coal or other minerals from a mine: close linkages between mining and other sectors of the economy | coal mining | [as modifier] : a mining town."

(definition 2 relates to cryptocurrency)

I can think of several possible causes for wanting the turbines torn down, but [mining] isn't one of them.

I agree, I don't see how you can honestly stretch the meaning of mining to include this activity...that would be tantamount to saying anybody sinking a shovel into the ground is mining...to me mining would have to include the permanent removal of material to be sold or processed into a value added product....there is a difference between mining and excavation...

..."Mining is the process of extracting valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth. This can include underground or surface mining, and can involve drilling, blasting, and other methods to extract the desired resources. Excavation, on the other hand, is the act of removing earth and rocks from a site, often for construction or landscaping purposes."...

https://thecontentauthority.com/blog/mining-vs-excavation