Anthracite Coal. Asbestos. Asphalt. A LIST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT MINERALS AND METALS WHICH POSSESS COMMERCIAL VAlue. Alum. Non-metallic. Iodine. Lignite Coal. Limestone. Magnesite or Dolomite. THE LAW OF MINES AND MINING IN THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER I. PROPERTY IN MINERALS WHERE THERE HAS BEEN NO DIVISION BETWEEN THE OWNERSHIP OF THE SURFACE AND THE MINERAL ESTATE. I. Property and Rights of the Owner of the Soil in Minerals which are in Place. II. Property in Minerals which have been severed from the Freehold. III. Property and Rights in the Minerals of Owners of the Soil who have a Limited Estate. A. Tenants for Life. B. Tenants for Years. C. Owners of Equities of Redemp tion. IV. Property and Rights in the Minerals where there are Joint Owners of the Soil. V. Property and Rights in Mineral Oil and Natural Gas. THE maxim of the common law is cujus est solum ejus est usque ad cœlum, and by the common law the owner of the soil has the property in the minerals lying under it, and between planes passing through the centre of the earth and the boundaries of the surface. While in place and unworked, minerals are part of the freehold, and, as such, real estate. When separated from the freehold they become personalty. Minerals in the ground are, however, capable of severance or separation in ownership from the soil, and when so severed are independently and separately inheritable and capable of conveyance. This subject of property in minerals when they are of a different estate from the soil will be discussed in the next chapter. The present chapter treats only of minerals in land in which there has been no division of the estate, whereby the title to the minerals either beneath or on the surface has become vested in some one who is not the owner of the soil. |