In canada who owns mineral rights

Land can be bought without knowledge that the title is deeded for surface rights only. A mining claim is not registered on the title. Lawyers and real estate agents may be unaware that there is an active mining claim on the property that is being bought or sold.

Landowners may be unaware that a claim has been staked on their property because they are not notified of the staking,. Whether or not you own the mineral rights can be verified by a detailed title search at the appropriate Land Registry Office.

The Provincial Mining Recorder or the website of Ministry of Mining and Northern Development can provide information on the status of a particular parcel of land. If you do not own the mineral rights, the Crown or someone else may hold title to the mining rights. If the land you own or lease has not been staked, then your land may be open for staking. These include:.

Indian Reserves cannot be staked except as provided by the Indian Lands Act, [29 e ]. The Indian Lands Agreement Act provides that the Indian band of the said lands can enter into agreement with the government of Ontario and the Government of Canada over minerals, mineral rights and royalties, although the mineral rights are reserved to the Crown.

A mining claim cannot be staked out nor can prospecting be done on the part of a lot where any of the following are situated, subject to the exemptions noted below:. If a dispute arises about the parts of the land which cannot be prospected or staked, the Mining Recorder or Commissioner will determine the areas which cannot be prospected or staked [s.

The holder of the mining claim or licensee then cannot enter the areas of the land found to be exempt from staking.

Any areas exempt from staking are also exempt from a mining claim. Surface rights determine who owns the rights to the surface of the land, while mineral rights determine who has the right to mine the minerals below the surface of the property. Mineral rights can be completely separate from land rights. In Canada, property owners generally hold the surface rights, while mineral rights are usually owned by the provincial government. The government may award a time-limited year lease for the mineral rights to a company that wants to develop natural gas or oil.

While the government grants mineral rights to a company to explore for and produce oil and natural gas, mineral rights do not include access to the surface land — surface access is granted by the landowner.

In Alberta, the Ministry of Energy awards mineral rights. Once a company has secured mineral rights they will negotiate a surface lease with the landowner. The CPR first reserved coal in , coal and petroleum in and finally all mines and minerals, including natural gas, in CPR land settlement policies lead to the splitting of subsurface title with powerful corporations holding title to coal or coal and petroleum and the successors or assigns of pioneer settlers holding title to the subsurface hydrocarbons not reserved by the CPR petroleum and natural gas or just natural gas.

Oil, natural gas and coal have been objects of commerce for over a century so one would think that the legal and technical distinction between these substances would have been resolved long ago. Not so! For decades the distinction for royalty purposes was made by powerful corporations.

Individual freeholders ultimately raised split title ownership issues. The response of provincial governments, energy industry regulators and the judiciary is a sad testament to the undue influence of the energy industry in Canada. As a member of FHOA, we help you to understand what you own and the formidable obstacles you face in protecting and maximizing the value of your heritage.

You will gain access to information and articles about the conflicts that arise when you, as a lessor, lease your mineral rights to an energy company, as lessee. Join today to get access to this information and many other resources available for Freehold Members. If you can, get involved. If you have skills or training which could help FHOA attain its goals, let us know.