property
mineral rights
Mineral rights are the ownership rights to substances below the surface of the land, such as oil, gas, coal, and metals. They are part of the bundle of rights but can be separated from surface ownership and sold or leased independently. When they are severed, one party may own the surface while another owns the minerals, often with an implied right to access the surface to extract them.
- Exam tip
- Remember that subsurface rights can be sold separately from surface rights. A question describing a buyer who owns the land but not the oil beneath it is testing severance of mineral rights.
- Example
- A rancher sells the mineral rights under 200 acres to an energy company for $50,000 while keeping title to the surface and continuing to graze cattle.
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Last verified: 2026-10-23