Chapter 1 : Division of Mines Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Tweet Reservations of mines and minerals have come into sharp focus over the last year, and pose a new challenge for developers. Minerals owners such as the Church Commissioners and the Crown have made a large number of applications around the country to register their titles to mines and minerals arising from ancient manorial rights. These have given rise to new entries reserving minerals and need careful consideration. The background to these applications is that after 12 October a purchaser of registered land will not be subject manorial rights unless they are protected on the title. Sometimes a notice of the rights will be entered on the title but where a minerals owner can show good evidence of title to the minerals, it can apply to register the minerals with a separate title - and we have come across a number of these applications. This type of application can be made at any time. The risk with a reservation of mines and minerals is that the minerals owner may allege trespass if the foundations interfere with the minerals. Plot purchasers may be concerned about the risk of the minerals being worked in the future and possible subsidence, even if the reservation makes it clear that the minerals owner cannot enter the land to extract or cause any damage to the surface land. If a title contains a reservation of minerals, it is important to carry out a search of the index map to find out if the minerals have been registered under a separate title. This separate title will provide details of the minerals owner. A developer may be tempted to approach the minerals owner to find out if it is prepared to sell its title to the minerals under the site but there is a serious danger in taking that step. If the owner is not prepared to sell - or sell at the price acceptable to the developer - the developer would not be able to obtain mining indemnity insurance. This is because insurers do not permit contact with the owner. It is important to obtain the full detail of the minerals reservation from the Land Registry as the precise wording may help to reduce the cost of the insurance. For example, the reservation may stipulate that it relates to minerals at a particular depth and sometimes the depth is as low as feet. In another example, we agreed with the Land Registry that they would add the wording from the deed that the mineral owner was not permitted to enter the surface of the land to work the minerals or cause any subsidence to the land or of the buildings on it. The combination of depth of minerals and no ability to enter the surface means there should not be a risk of trespass from putting in foundations. In spite of this, we agreed an indemnity policy that covers both trespass and subsidence as it should give greater comfort to plot purchasers - although the premium is lower due to the wording of the reservation. In this example, we obtained the policy even though the minerals owner was known, as it had registered the minerals with a separate title from the surface owner. We have advised a number of clients facing applications for registration of mines and minerals. Page 1
Chapter 2 : Mining - Wikipedia Note: Citations are based on reference standards. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The specific requirements or preferences of your reviewing publisher, classroom teacher, institution or organization should be applied. However, its fertile soil also contains iron ore, rutile, bauxite and gold and its mining sector was relatively advanced and mechanised before industrial large-scale mining ceased in due to the civil war. Sierra Leone is in the heart of West Africa and has borders with the Republic of Guinea and Liberia, also resource-rich countries. It benefits from a large Atlantic coastline and natural ports and is roughly circular in shape, with no great distances to cover for project infrastructure, nowhere in the country is more than kilometres from the coast. Gold and iron ore were discovered in the late s, diamonds in the early s and bauxite and rutile in the s. When, in, Consolidated African Selection Trust was initially granted a year concession for prospecting and mining diamonds, it was considered one of the largest mining companies in the world. The economy of Sierra Leone is primarily based on agriculture and mining. Although Sierra Leone was ranked as the poorest and least developed country in the world by the World Bank at the end of the civil war,2 it has undergone a period of steady growth until the Ebola outbreak in According to World Bank estimates, Sierra Leone is the country that has suffered the greatest economic losses due to the Ebola crisis. Sierra Leone was under British administration between and and was a British Protectorate until, when it became independent. The first piece of mining legislation enacted in Sierra Leone was the Minerals Act, which was amended as the Revised Minerals Act in The Act was slightly amended in and and supplemented by the Mines and Minerals Regulations in and the Mines and Minerals Fees Regulations in As in the case of these laws, the Act was criticised for not being sufficiently detailed on environmental, social development, health, safety and community issues. Sierra Leone has adopted a number of laws and regulations over the past twelve years to tackle these criticisms and promote transparency, local content and stronger governance, while also encouraging foreign investments: It has brought about the following major changes: The Act has been described by Alhaji Alpha Kanu, then Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources as "more comprehensive with respect to the issues it addresses, more balanced between the interests of the sector and those of communities and more rigorous in terms of governance and oversight". However, it has been criticised by i certain investors for the lack of clarity of certain provisions e. In an effort to promote governance in the mining sector, the National Minerals Agency NMA, a new semi-autonomous government agency, was established in April by the National Minerals Agency Act In particular, the Act has recently been supplemented by the following detailed regulations, which contain key provisions for mining projects: The upside of such policies is to provide investors with more clarity and certainty in relation to the legal framework applicable to their investments, but it also requires investors to conduct a more detailed due diligence process before making investment decisions. Going forward, investor appetite will tell whether the latest changes in the legal framework applicable to mining projects in Sierra Leone have achieved the appropriate balance between social development and investment promotion. To view all formatting for this article eg, tables, footnotes, please access the original here. Page 2
Chapter 3 : General Mining Act of - Wikipedia The General Mining Act of is a United States federal law that authorizes and governs prospecting and mining for economic minerals, such as gold, platinum, and silver, on federal public lands. Back to top 1. There is no single UK regulatory regime for mining. Instead, UK mining is governed by different sources of law, dependent upon the mineral type and the relevant aspect of mining activity which is being considered. Broadly, regulation can be categorised by reference to specific minerals as follows: Permission of the Crown Estate is needed to remove gold in any form, in addition to the need for rights of access from the owner of the surface of the land. The option is in a standard form and is for a one-year period two in Northern Ireland. Coal By statute the Coal Industry Act, the vast majority of unworked coal and coal mines are owned by the Coal Authority. In order to conduct onshore exploration, a licence is required. The licence grants exclusive rights to exploit for and develop oil and gas onshore within Great Britain. The rights granted under such licences do not include any rights of access, and the licensees must also obtain any consent under current legislation, including planning permissions. It is responsible for the regulation of offshore and onshore oil and gas operations in the UK, including licensing, exploration and production, and oil and gas infrastructure. As such, mineral rights generally belong to the landowner. They are held in private ownership where the owner of the surface land is entitled to everything beneath or within it, down to the centre of the earth. The Land Registry holds information regarding minerals held in private ownership, along with details of the land surface ownership. Although there is no specific UK licensing system for exploration and extraction activities in the mining sector, planning permission must be obtained from a mineral planning authority for the extraction of minerals, and a number of environmental consents and safety systems must be in place in order for any specific mining operation to be conducted lawfully. This enables the DE to grant prospecting and mining licences to commercial companies for exploration and development of minerals. There are three main exceptions: Planning authorities play a large part in the regulation of mines in the UK. This is both at a regional level regional planning policies for mineral extraction and at a project-specific level granting permission for specific mining projects. Environmental regulation is undertaken by independent Government regulators. The principal environmental regulator for England is the Environment Agency. However, in some cases, the regulator will be the relevant local authority or Natural England. General principles of the law of nuisance will apply to the use of land as a mine or quarry. Examples of mining activities capable of creating a nuisance include emission of dust or noxious fumes, the discharge of polluting effluents into a river, the creation of noise and vibration, and the projection of debris by blasting. The emission of smoke or fumes and the lack of proper fencing of abandoned and disused mines and quarries are in certain circumstances a statutory nuisance. An employer of workers at a mine or quarry owes a common law duty to each employee to take reasonable care for safety in all circumstances and exposure against unnecessary risk. With effect from 6 April, the Mines Regulations replaced all previous legislation specifically relating to health and safety in mines. Where a person suffers injury by reason of a breach of any mining legislation creating a duty that person may be entitled to recover damages in a civil action for breach of statutory duty. Page 3
Chapter 4 : Mining Law Laws and Regulations Ghana ICLG 1. Introduction. This guide deals with the registration of mines and minerals under the Land Registration Act It does not seek to be a general guide to the law concerning mines and minerals. Underground mining hard rock and Underground mining soft rock Mantrip used for transporting miners within an underground mine Sub-surface mining consists of digging tunnels or shafts into the earth to reach buried ore deposits. Ore, for processing, and waste rock, for disposal, are brought to the surface through the tunnels and shafts. Sub-surface mining can be classified by the type of access shafts used, the extraction method or the technique used to reach the mineral deposit. Drift mining utilizes horizontal access tunnels, slope mining uses diagonally sloping access shafts, and shaft mining utilizes vertical access shafts. Mining in hard and soft rock formations require different techniques. Other methods include shrinkage stope mining, which is mining upward, creating a sloping underground room, long wall mining, which is grinding a long ore surface underground, and room and pillar mining, which is removing ore from rooms while leaving pillars in place to support the roof of the room. Room and pillar mining often leads to retreat mining, in which supporting pillars are removed as miners retreat, allowing the room to cave in, thereby loosening more ore. Additional sub-surface mining methods include hard rock mining, which is mining of hard rock igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary materials, bore hole mining, drift and fill mining, long hole slope mining, sub level caving, and block caving. A typical cycle includes sumping launch-pushing forward and shearing raising and lowering the cutterhead boom to cut the entire height of the coal seam. As the coal recovery cycle continues, the cutterhead is progressively launched into the coal seam for The Pushbeam system can penetrate nearly 1, feet m into the coal seam. One patented Highwall mining system uses augers enclosed inside the Pushbeam that prevent the mined coal from being contaminated by rock debris during the conveyance process. Machines[ edit ] The Bagger is a bucket-wheel excavator used in strip mining. It is also the largest land vehicle of all time. A Bucyrus Erie dragline and CAT haul truck at the North Antelope Rochelle opencut coal mine Heavy machinery is used in mining to explore and develop sites, to remove and stockpile overburden, to break and remove rocks of various hardness and toughness, to process the ore, and to carry out reclamation projects after the mine is closed. Bulldozers, drills, explosives and trucks are all necessary for excavating the land. In the case of placer mining, unconsolidated gravel, or alluvium, is fed into machinery consisting of a hopper and a shaking screen or trommel which frees the desired minerals from the waste gravel. The minerals are then concentrated using sluices or jigs. Large drills are used to sink shafts, excavate stopes, and obtain samples for analysis. Trams are used to transport miners, minerals and waste. Lifts carry miners into and out of mines, and move rock and ore out, and machinery in and out, of underground mines. Huge trucks, shovels and cranes are employed in surface mining to move large quantities of overburden and ore. Processing plants utilize large crushers, mills, reactors, roasters and other equipment to consolidate the mineral-rich material and extract the desired compounds and metals from the ore. Mineral processing and Extractive metallurgy Once the mineral is extracted, it is often then processed. The science of extractive metallurgy is a specialized area in the science of metallurgy that studies the extraction of valuable metals from their ores, especially through chemical or mechanical means. Mineral processing or mineral dressing is a specialized area in the science of metallurgy that studies the mechanical means of crushing, grinding, and washing that enable the separation extractive metallurgy of valuable metals or minerals from their gangue waste material. Processing of placer ore material consists of gravity-dependent methods of separation, such as sluice boxes. Only minor shaking or washing may be necessary to disaggregate unclump the sands or gravels before processing. Processing of ore from a lode mine, whether it is a surface or subsurface mine, requires that the rock ore be crushed and pulverized before extraction of the valuable minerals begins. After lode ore is crushed, recovery of the valuable minerals is done by one, or a combination of several, mechanical and chemical techniques. Since most metals are present in ores as oxides or sulfides, the metal needs to be reduced to its metallic form. This Page 4
can be accomplished through chemical means such as smelting or through electrolytic reduction, as in the case of aluminium. Geometallurgy combines the geologic sciences with extractive metallurgy and mining. In, led by Chemistry and Biochemistry professor Bradley D. Smith, University of Notre Dame researchers "invented a new class of molecules whose shape and size enable them to capture and contain precious metal ions," reported in a study published by the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The new method "converts gold-containing ore into chloroauric acid and extracts it using an industrial solvent. The container molecules are able to selectively separate the gold from the solvent without the use of water stripping. Environmental impact of mining Iron hydroxide precipitate stains a stream receiving acid drainage from surface coal mining. Environmental issues can include erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining processes. In some cases, additional forest logging is done in the vicinity of mines to create space for the storage of the created debris and soil. Mining companies in most countries are required to follow stringent environmental and rehabilitation codes in order to minimize environmental impact and avoid impacting human health. These codes and regulations all require the common steps of environmental impact assessment, development of environmental management plans, mine closure planning which must be done before the start of mining operations, and environmental monitoring during operation and after closure. However, in some areas, particularly in the developing world, government regulations may not be well enforced. For major mining companies and any company seeking international financing, there are a number of other mechanisms to enforce good environmental standards. These generally relate to financing standards such as the Equator Principles, IFC environmental standards, and criteria for Socially responsible investing. Mining companies have used this oversight from the financial sector to argue for some level of industry self-regulation. For example, ISO and ISO, which certify an "auditable environmental management system", involve short inspections, although they have been accused of lacking rigor. Miscellaneous other certification programs exist for various projects, typically through nonprofit groups. It found existing literature suggesting donors encourage developing countries to: Make the environment-poverty link and introduce cutting-edge wealth measures and natural capital accounts. Reform old taxes in line with more recent financial innovation, engage directly with the companies, enacting land use and impact assessments, and incorporate specialised support and standards agencies. Set in play transparency and community participation initiatives using the wealth accrued. Waste[ edit ] Ore mills generate large amounts of waste, called tailings. For example, 99 tons of waste are generated per ton of copper, [43] with even higher ratios in gold mining - because only 5. These tailings can be toxic. Tailings, which are usually produced as a slurry, are most commonly dumped into ponds made from naturally existing valleys. When the mineralised package is determined by an economic cut-off, the near-grade mineralised waste is usually dumped separately with view to later treatment should market conditions change and it becomes economically viable. Civil engineering design parameters are used in the design of the waste dumps, and special conditions apply to high-rainfall areas and to seismically active areas. Waste dump designs must meet all regulatory requirements of the country in whose jurisdiction the mine is located. It is also common practice to rehabilitate dumps to an internationally acceptable standard, which in some cases means that higher standards than the local regulatory standard are applied. Electricity is typically generated with diesel generators. Due to high transportation cost and theft during transportation the cost for generating electricity is normally high. Renewable energy applications are becoming an alternative or amendment. Both solar and wind power plants can contribute in saving diesel costs at mining sites. Renewable energy applications have been built at mining sites. List of mines, List of mining companies, Category: Mining companies, and Category: Mining industry by country Mining exists in many countries. In the developed world, mining in Australia, with BHP Billiton founded and headquartered in the country, and mining in Canada are particularly significant. While exploration and mining can be conducted by individual entrepreneurs or small businesses, most modern-day mines are large enterprises requiring large amounts of capital to establish. Consequently, the mining sector of the industry is dominated by large, often multinational, companies, most of them publicly listed. The Page 5
exploration sector is typically made up of individuals and small mineral resource companies, called "juniors", which are dependent on venture capital. The mining sector is made up of large multinational companies that are sustained by production from their mining operations. Various other industries such as equipment manufacture, environmental testing, and metallurgy analysis rely on, and support, the mining industry throughout the world. These are oil and gas extraction, coal mining, metal ore mining, nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying, and mining support activities. Prospecting potential mining sites, a vital area of concern for the mining industry, is now done using sophisticated new technologies such as seismic prospecting and remote-sensing satellites. Mining is heavily affected by the prices of the commodity minerals, which are often volatile. The s commodities boom "commodities supercycle" increased the prices of commodities, driving aggressive mining. Junior companies rely on equity financing as their principal means of funding exploration. Increasing debate and influence by NGOs and local communities called for a new approahes which would also include disadvantaged communities, and work towards sustainable development even after mine closure including transparency and revenue management. By the early s, community development issues and resettlements became mainstream concerns in World Bank mining projects. Furthermore, this highlighted regional and local demand for mining revenues and an inability of sub-national governments to effectively use the revenues. The Fraser Institute a Canadian think tank has highlighted[ clarification needed ] the environmental protection laws in developing countries, as well as voluntary efforts by mining companies to improve their environmental impact. Page 6
Chapter 5 : Mining in Sierra Leone: an overview of the current legal framework - Lexology Moved Permanently. The document has moved here. Miners and prospectors in the California Gold Rush of found themselves in a legal vacuum. Although the US federal government had laws governing the leasing of mineral land, the United States had only recently acquired California by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and had little presence in the newly acquired territories. California miners spread the concept all over the west with each new mining rush, and the practices spread to all the states and territories west of the Great Plains. At the end of the American Civil War, some eastern congressmen regarded western miners as squatters who were robbing the public patrimony, and proposed seizure of the western mines to pay the huge war debt. In June, Representative George Washington Julian of Indiana introduced a bill for the government to take the western mines from their discoverers, and sell them at public auction. Representative Fernando Wood proposed that the government send an army to California, Colorado, and Arizona to expel the miners "by armed force if necessary to protect the rights of the Government in the mineral lands. In, Congress passed a law that instructed courts deciding questions of contested mining rights to ignore federal ownership, and defer to the miners in actual possession of the ground. Chaffee, passed and was signed on July 26, The mining law of had given discoverers rights to stake mining claims to extract gold, silver, cinnabar the principal ore of mercury and copper. When Congress passed the General Mining Act of, the wording was changed to "or other valuable deposits," giving greater scope to the law. The law was codified as 30 U. The reminder of the placer-claim, or any placer-claim not embracing any vein or lode claim, shall be paid for at the rate of two dollars and fifty cents per acre, together with all costs of proceedings;. This price set by law has remained the same since Investors in an alleged diamond deposit in the western United States that became known as the Diamond Hoax of paid Benjamin F. Butler for amending the General Mining Act of to include the terms "valuable mineral deposits" in order to allow legal mining claims in the diamond fields. NO Prospecting, Panning, Sluicing South Yuba River, California photo. A mining claim is the right to explore for and extract minerals from a tract of land. Once the claim is staked, the prospector documents the claim by filing required forms. Originally the forms were filed with the mining district recorder; today they are filed with the Clerk of the County in which the claim is located, and with the US Bureau of Land Management. Papers are likewise filed to document annual assessment work. Land dedicated for specific uses such as the White House lawn, national parks, or wilderness areas, is not subject to mineral entry. Land west of the Great Plains managed by the US Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management, unless designated as wilderness area, is generally open to mining claims. Federal land on or east of the Great Plains was generally acquired by the federal government through purchase, and so is not considered public domain, and is not subject to mining claims. Since, the list of locatable minerals does not include petroleum, coal, phosphate, sodium, and potassium. Rights to explore for and extract these are leased through competitive bidding. Common construction material such as sand and gravel are obtained by purchase. For instance, the failure to prosecute the work on the tunnel for six months is considered the abandonment of rights to all the undiscovered veins on the line of the tunnels. If this does not occur, the claim or mine upon which such failure occurred shall be made to relocation in the same manner as if no location of the same had ever been made. The original mining law gave miners the opportunity to obtain patents deeds from the government, much as farmers could obtain title under the Homestead Act. The owner of a patented claim can put it to any legal use. The process of patenting claims has been perhaps the most controversial part of the mining law. Because of a Congress-imposed moratorium, the federal government has not accepted any new applications for mining claim patents since October 1, This gave the owners of the surface outcrop of a vein the right to follow and mine the vein wherever it led, even if its subsurface extension continued beneath other mining claims. This provision, also known as the law of the apex led to lengthy litigation and even underground battles, especially in Butte, Montana and the Comstock Lode. Subsequent Page 7
changes to the law include: Timber and Stone Act, an law that allowed private purchase of minable government land was codified as 43 U. Since 1 October Congress has imposed budget restrictions which have prevented the Bureau of Land Management from accepting new applications for patents on mining claims. Many of the provisions of FLPMA revised the surface uses allowed on mining claims under the mining law by halting or restricting unnecessary or undue degradation of the public lands. These regulations were updated and the final rules published in December These rules effectively replace many of the Mining Law provisions and require mining reclamation, financial guarantees for reclamation to the Federal government, mining claim occupation permits and detailed Mining Plans of Operations to be submitted to the governing agencies before disturbing the surface. Richard Pombo R, California lost the election and was replaced by Nick Rahall from West Virginia, who has been a strong critic of the mining industry. Don Young R- Alaska believe that the Surface Management regulations [35] address modern day concerns and that implementing further restrictions on the industry or imposing royalties would force even more of the domestic mining industry out of the country. As stated by Congressman Pearce, "Why would we as a nation want to send our metals and uranium mining off shore, then wind up reliant on foreign countries for the raw materials we need for our industries and new power plants. We need to learn from past mistakes such as our reliance on the middle east for our petroleum products. Mining of private mineral rights including patented mining claims would not have been affected. In addition, a reclamation tax of from 0. The royalties and reclamation taxes would be used to reclaim abandoned hardrock mines. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar stated "There is a new administration in town, and we want to see the mining law reformed. Page 8
Chapter 6 : Webber Wentzel Mining & Energy Law Attorneys and Lawyers "small scale mining" means the intentional winning of minerals other than diamonds in operations involving the mining and processing of less than 50 tonnes of raw ore per annum and in which the overall investment in fixed assets does not exceed P1 million. Tweet Developers may start to come across sites where the mines and minerals are not only excluded but registered under a separate title to another owner. If a title to a property contains a reservation of mines and minerals, a search of the index map should be carried out to find out if the mines and minerals have been carved out into another title. Background Property owners across the country have received a B25 notice from the Land Registry notifying them that another party has applied to register the mines and minerals under their property. Ownership of mines and minerals separate from the surface land may come about in a variety of ways, many of them under ancient law. Rights to mines and minerals often derive from rights held by the lord of the manor or manorial rights - former copyhold land. The law is changing in relation to how manorial rights should be protected in relation to land. At present, a buyer of a property subject to manorial rights will be bound by them even though they are not mentioned on the title register at the Land Registry. From 13 October a buyer will only be bound by them if they are noted on the title register. As a consequence, those with a manorial right to mines and minerals have to decide how to protect them. In some cases they are able to prove ownership of the mines and minerals and apply for their own title to them rather than just note them on the surface title. In the case of proof of ownership, the application is notified in a B25 notice. The Land Registry says that there is no time limit on an application for first registration of mines and minerals. At present B25 notices are most likely to be sent in relation to land that used to be copyhold. This is land that used to form part of a manor and when it was converted to freehold, rights were kept for the lord of the manor including mines and minerals. Some titles to former copyhold land have an entry to make that clear but many do not. Should a developer be concerned if the mines and minerals are removed from the title? The title to many properties in England and Wales states that mines and minerals are not included. A view is generally taken about the likelihood of them being mined. Another risk to consider is a claim by a mineral owner of trespass for interference with the minerals through excavations for foundations. A preliminary question is whether what might be in the ground is actually a mineral at all. In most cases it is not possible to find out who owns the mines and minerals and some developers take out insurance against the risk. The risk of a claim for trespass may be greater if it is found that the mines and minerals have recently been excluded from the title or noted on the title by the minerals owner. The exclusion may specify that the mines and minerals are at a certain depth so this may not be an issue. Page 9
Chapter 7 : Dept of Mines Minerals and Energy Reservations of mines and minerals have come into sharp focus over the last year, and pose a new challenge for developers. Minerals owners such as the Church Commissioners and the Crown have made a large number of applications around the country to register their titles to mines and minerals arising. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at https: Introduction This guide deals with the registration of mines and minerals under the Land Registration Act It does not seek to be a general guide to the law concerning mines and minerals. The registration of mines and minerals held apart from the surface is not compulsory section 4 9 of the Land Registration Act except where there is a registrable disposition of such mines and minerals section 27 of the Land Registration Act Where the mines and minerals constitute the surface or outcrop, for example, along a cliff face that slopes outwards towards the sea, the usual rules regarding compulsory registration apply to the surface. It is possible to make a voluntary application to register mines and minerals at any time. Rights in respect of mines and minerals reserved to the lord on enfranchisement whether under section 48 of the Copyhold Act, section 23 of the Copyhold Act or paragraph 5 of Schedule 12 of the Law of Property Act do not fall within section 1 1 a of the Law of Property Act but rather within section 1 2 a of the Law of Property Act Such rights cannot be registered with their own title under section 3 1 a of the Land Registration Act Where there was a custom of the manor that the lord was entitled to enter the copyhold land of the tenant and take the minerals, it may be possible to register the rights reserved to the lord on enfranchisement under those Acts under section 3 1 d of the Land Registration Act, but only when the rights are profits a prendre in gross. See practice guide Petroleum in its natural state is also vested in the Crown. Most interests in coal are vested in the Coal Authority. The Coal Authority may also have title to other mines and minerals in coal mining areas. Registered titles will not therefore include any of these interests. First registration of freehold mines and minerals held apart from the land 2. Registration Services fees based on either the price paid in a recent transaction or a certificate of the value of the interest being registered full details in form DI of any other unregistered interests affecting the mines and minerals as specified in Schedule 1 of the Land Registration Act see practice guide A conveyancer may, however, make an application for first registration on the basis of certified copy deeds and documents only. For information about this, see practice guide 1: If your application is not a first registration, we only need certified copies of deeds or documents you send to us with HM Land Registry applications. Once we have made a scanned copy of the documents you send to us, they will be destroyed. This applies to both originals and certified copies. However, any original copies of death certificates or grants of probate will continue to be returned. These are discussed in Title to mines and minerals. As a result, mines and minerals can usually only be registered with a qualified title. The qualification will be as follows: Title to mines and minerals The conventional year root of title will rarely be sufficient to allow the grant of an absolute title to mines and minerals for the following reasons. In many cases the difficulty will be in determining whether or not any of the situations described below apply. Some grants of land from the Crown reserved the mines and minerals and any reservation in favour of the Crown is construed against the grantee. Although the position regarding the ownership of mines and minerals under copyhold land was governed by the custom of the manor in which that land was situate, the most common situation was that the property in the minerals was with the lord of the manor but the lord could not work them without the consent of the copyholder. On enfranchisement of the copyhold whether under the Copyhold Acts of,, or or under the Law of Property Act the position of the lord and tenant regarding mines and minerals was generally preserved by way of appropriate reservations implied by the relevant Act. Occasionally however the position regarding mines and minerals was specifically dealt with by the parties on enfranchisement. On enfranchisement at common law the mines and minerals usually passed to the copyholder but might be dealt Page 10
with otherwise in the deed of enfranchisement. It is not always apparent from deeds of enfranchisement whether the enfranchisement was at common law or under one of the Copyhold Acts. Enfranchisement was the process by which a copyhold tenure was converted into a freehold title. The position regarding the ownership of mines and minerals in land that was ancient demesne may be unclear, since some tenants in ancient demesne had freehold while others had copyhold. As the freehold was held by the tenant, the mines and minerals were usually vested in them. In contrast to ancient freehold, which was a sort of free tenure, customary freehold was a form of privileged copyhold. A conveyance of a customary freehold could be made by surrender and admittance, or by an ordinary conveyance followed by an admittance, or by an ordinary conveyance coupled with surrender and admittance. As a form of copyhold, the position regarding mines and minerals is the same as under Copyhold. Tenant right was a form of tenure predominantly in the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland. While it was arguably neither freehold nor copyhold, it was a customary tenure and the ownership of the mines and minerals may depend on the particular custom affecting the land in question. In the south west and perhaps elsewhere questions may arise about conventionary tenements or tin bounding. There may be other examples. The inclosure may have taken place as long ago as the s and may not be referred to in later deeds, but will still determine questions of ownership. Where appropriate HM Land Registry will normally make an entry excluding from the title any mines and minerals which vested in the Coal Commission pursuant to the Coal Act If unusually you do not want such an entry made you will be expected to make enquiries to the Coal Authority and lodge any supporting material to justify your request for the omission of such entry see Notices. Inclusion of mines and minerals The mines and minerals are rebuttably presumed to be included in the registered title of surface land; this reflects the common law position with regard to mines and minerals where the surface lands are unregistered. However, paragraph 2 of Schedule 8 of the Land Registration Act provides that no indemnity is payable in respect of mines and minerals unless there is a specific note in the register that title to them is included. Such a note can be entered as a result of a: Where the evidence of title to the mines and minerals is not sufficient for an absolute title, a separate qualified title may be created sections 9 4 and 10 5 of the Land Registration Act See How to apply and retention of documents regarding retention of documents sent to us. The form of the note in the register extending indemnity to mines and minerals will usually be: The description of the registered estate is an entry made under rule 5 a of the Land Registration Rules and is not a note to which paragraph 2 of Schedule 8 to the Land Registration Act refers that the registered estate includes the mines or minerals. The mines and minerals under the land are only included in the registration to the extent that they were included in [title number]. Leases of mines and minerals 5. Registration Services fees based on either the price paid in a recent transaction or a certificate of value of the interest being registered full details in form DI of any other unregistered interests affecting the mines and minerals as specified in Schedule 1 of the Land Registration Act see practice guide Where there is no such note and the lessor is registered with an absolute title, then an absolute title to the leasehold estate can still be registered but the following entry will be made following the description of the registered estate: The description of the registered estate is an entry made under rule 5 a of the Land Registration Rules and is not a note to which paragraph 2 of Schedule 8 to the Land Registration Act refers that the registered estate includes the mines or minerals under the land. Transfers out of registered land Where a transfer of mines and minerals is made out of a registered title to mines and minerals, or which contains a note regarding the inclusion of those mines and minerals, the new title will be registered with the same class of title as the existing class of title. Where there is no such note, the new title will be registered with the same class of title as the existing class of title but the following entry will be made following the description of the registered estate: Notices We may give notice of the application to the owner of a surface title and may also give notice to other persons, for example, in appropriate circumstances, the Crown or the Coal Authority rule 30 a of the Land Registration Rules In the unusual case where absolute title is being considered, and the application is in a coal-mining area and the applicant seeks omission of the exclusion entry referred to in Coal Authority, one line of enquiry the applicant will be expected to make in advance of the Page 11
application is to establish with the Coal Authority whether it has any claim to the mines and minerals sought to be registered. Indemnity Paragraph 2 of Schedule 8 of the Land Registration Act provides that no indemnity is payable in respect of mines and minerals unless there is a specific note in the register that title to them is included. Overriding interests Registered land is subject to any subsisting overriding interests sections 11, 12, 29, 30 and Schedules 1 and 3 of the Land Registration Act Profits a prendre The grant of a right to enter on to land and extract minerals may be a profit a prendre. Such a right may be registered if it is in gross see practice guide Examples where absolute title to mines and minerals may be appropriate Because of the difficulties in proving the negatives necessary to establish title see Title to mines and minerals these examples are mainly based on situations where there is clear evidence that the land was formerly copyhold. The Crown had not at that time granted any leases of mines and minerals or otherwise dealt with the mines and minerals. The applicant is able to prove that the copyholder and their predecessors and successors in title have not dealt with the mines and minerals, or any interest they had in them, separately from the land. No minerals under the land have been worked. In this situation it is clear that the successor to the copyholder has title to the mines and minerals under the land in question and an absolute title is appropriate. On enfranchisement of the copyhold land under the Copyhold Act, the mines and minerals were not specifically dealt with, therefore the ownership of the lord of the manor was not affected. No third party has been in adverse possession of the mines and minerals. In this situation it is clear that the successor to the lord of the manor has title to the mines and minerals under the land in question and an absolute title is appropriate. Prior to this neither the lord of the manor nor the copyholder had dealt with any interest which the lord of the manor had in the mines and minerals. There is nothing to suggest that the mines and minerals were reserved on the original grant from the Crown. Things to remember Contents Is this page useful? Chapter 8 : Exclusion of mines and minerals: the considerations Ownership of mines and minerals separate from the surface land may come about in a variety of ways, many of them under ancient law. Rights to mines and minerals often derive from rights held by the lord of the manor or manorial rights - former copyhold land. Chapter 9 : LAW Mining Law, History & Practice PittLaw The Minerals and Mining Act, (Act ) (as amended by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, (Act ) and the Minerals Commission Act, (Act ) are the principal enactments setting out the framework of mining law. Page 12