Section 14 Mineral Rights

• Library: Farm Law 2006

It is not the purpose of this chapter to deal with the law and regulation of mines and mining operations but to set forth generally legal principles governing the creation of and exercise of a “mineral right.” For information regarding the rights and duties of miners and mine owners for metallic ore mines and coal mines, see Chapter 444, RSMo, and for oil and gas production, see Chapter 259, RSMo. Surface coal mines are also subject to regulation under the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. §§ 1201 et seq. Depending on the material being mined and the location of the deposit, other regulatory schemes may also be triggered, e.g., the:

• General Mining Act of 1872, 30 U.S.C. §§ 22–47 (scattered sections)
• Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, 30 U.S.C. §§ 351
  et seq
• Materials Act of 1947, 30 U.S.C. §§ 601 et seq.
• Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, 30 U.S.C. §§ 1001 et seq.
• Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, 30 U.S.C. §§ 181–263 (scattered sections); and
• Taylor Grazing Act, 43 U.S.C. §§ 315 et seq.

A mineral right or an estate in mineral rights is generally defined as the right to enter and mine. It is an incorporeal hereditament. Thacker v. Flottmann, 244 S.W.2d 1020 (Mo. 1952).

Mineral rights can be created either (1) by express grant or (2) by reservation. Gordon v. Million, 154 S.W. 99 (Mo. 1913); Tucker v. Ratley, 568 S.W.2d 797 (Mo. App. E.D. 1978). Once a mineral right is granted or reserved, the estate is severed and two distinct estates result. Wardell v. Watson, 5 S.W. 605 (Mo. 1887). This severance creates two separate tracts with differing rights and obligations. See, e.g., Kernkamp v. Wellsville Fire Brick Co., 170 S.W.2d 692 (Mo. App. E.D. 1943), overruled on other grounds byDorman v. Minnich, 336 S.W.2d 500, 507 (Mo. banc 1960).

The estate separated from the mineral estate is the surface right. The surface right is defined as the area covering and enveloping the minerals. This...