[Rockhounds] Abandoned mines: Who owns them?

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

Kevin,

Many years ago my wife and I inherited a sum of money and used it as a
down payment on some property to camp on while we held it as an
investment. Shortly after we had paid it off we were contacted by an oil
exploration company that wanted to lease our mineral rights. They were
offering cash (lump sum up front an an annual check) with a promise of
more if they went into production (and even more if they selected our
property for drilling).

In checking them out I found that (at least in Michigan) if your Deed
does not specifically exclude the mineral rights they go with the
property, either because they have been retained by the various owners,
or they have reverted back to the property owners at some point after
being seperated. We ended up leasing the mineral rights for ten years
and recorded it with the County Clerk.

BTW, after the lease expired we sold the property, including mineral
rights, and put two kids thru college with the proceeds.

You may want to check into the Law in Colorado (call your real estate
agent). You may already have rights to the minerals on your property. 

Kreigh





Paintricks at aol.com wrote:
> 
> I too am curious of this topic.  I just bought a house outside of  Cripple
> Creek, Colorado.  I have an abandoned gold mine just feet from the  back of the
> house.  It's a shaft that goes in about 23 feet with a boulder  wedged in the
> entrance.  Since I own the land it sits on,  Can I  obtain mineral rights to
> it or can I just open the claim back up?  Mineral  rights are hard to come by
> here but I figure there is always a way to get access  to my own land.  The
> land below my property is a different story from what  I hear.
>   Where would I go to re open the claim online?
>   Thanks,
>    Kevin
> 
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