Also known as: minerals · mineral rights · natural resource · ore
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A natural inorganic substance with a definite chemical composition and specific physical properties that give it commercial value. The term also covers subsurface materials explored for mining and extraction, including those removable under a profit à prendre.
Musa Mensah holds a profit à prendre over land owned by Matrix Technologies. Mensah enters the property and removes coal seams from beneath the surface. The removal is authorized because the profit grants the right to extract minerals from land in another's possession.
Michelle Murphy grants Mosaic Retail a servitude allowing removal of oil from her ranch. Mosaic drills wells and extracts petroleum deposits. The arrangement qualifies as a profit because it authorizes extraction of minerals from land possessed by another.
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Malcolm McKinley conveys mineral rights in Pennsylvania land to Mina Mehta under a deed whose scope is disputed. A federal court sitting in diversity applies Pennsylvania decisions interpreting the conveyance rather than a general federal rule. The court treats the conveyed interests as minerals under state law.
Keystone Bituminous Coal Association members own subsurface mineral estates. Pennsylvania requires them to leave coal pillars in place to prevent surface subsidence. The owners retain the right to extract the remaining minerals subject to the regulation.
Maya Malik challenges a federal statute restricting mineral extraction on federal lands. The court applies rational-basis review under the Carolene Products framework because the law regulates economic activity rather than fundamental rights. The statute limits extraction of designated minerals.
Meredith Maxwell owns a building whose landmark status prevents development that would affect subsurface mineral access. The city denies a permit to extract minerals beneath the structure. Maxwell retains the mineral interests as part of the entire parcel under review.
A profit à prendre grants the additional right to remove minerals or other substances from the land, whereas an ordinary easement only permits entry and use without removal. The Restatement treats profits as a distinct category that includes mineral extraction rights.
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The Restatement notes that specialized bodies of law such as oil and gas law and mineral extraction law often govern these profits instead. General servitude principles apply only to the extent special rules do not control.
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Black's Law Dictionary defines a mineral as any natural inorganic matter with definite chemical composition and physical properties that give it value, or any subsurface material mined for its useful properties and commercial value.
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…Miss. Code Ann. § 2223 (Supp. 1972); N. M. Stat. Ann. §§ 40A-5-1 to 40A-5-3 (1972); N. C. Gen. Stat. § 14-45.1 (Supp. 1971); Ore. Rev. Stat. §§ 435.405 to 435.495 (1971); S. C. Code Ann. §§ 16-82 to 16-89 (1962 and Supp. 1971); Va. Code Ann. §§ 18.1-62 to 18.1-62.3 (Supp. 1972). Mr. Justice Clark described some of…