Who owns mineral rights under your property?

It is a costly process to find out the legal owner of minerals under a particular property, states Nolo. If the mineral rights are not separated from the land, the property owner maintains the rights.

For example, for people living in areas that have not historically had any valuable minerals, the mineral owner may not find it worthy to mine the little that is available, notes Nolo. Additionally, it depends on several factors, including the value of the mineral and its abundance. Moreover, the federal law prohibits mineral owners from destroying homes or settlements to obtain minerals. They are also prohibited from mining in densely populated areas.