Much has been reported in the news lately about companies seeking to purchase minerals from residents, whether or not those minerals have been leased. While a company may offer an attractive up-front, one-time payment to buy minerals, mineral owners should take the time to carefully review all the long-term consequences of such a sale. Here are a few things to consider when faced with this offer:

What is the difference between leasing and selling my mineral rights? Read more »

The town of Summit will lease its mineral rights to an oil company that is looking to drill in the area.

The city council this week agreed to lease 16.8 acres to Shreveport, La.-based PAR Minerals Exploration LLC.

The lease is for three years at $150 an acre. The town also will receive a 3/16 share of royalties from oil taken from town property.

PAR's Nicki Boland presented $2,520 check to the town on Tuesday July 12, 2012. Read more »

A national builder is selling hundreds of just-finished North Carolina homes while keeping the underground mineral rights as interest in drilling for natural gas deposits builds.

Texas-based D.R. Horton Inc. raises the specter that gas deposits hundreds of feet under the homes could be tapped using a controversial drilling technique called fracking. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

Durham real estate attorney Carey Ewing says she's concerned about re-sale values of the homes lacking mineral rights if North Carolina legalizes fracking. Read more »

Some landowners in Jackson County may not have rights to frac sand and other minerals on their property.

Jackson County soon plans to begin determining how many privately owned acres for which it holds mineral rights, a provision it’s attained when selling land.

What the county may or may not do with those mineral rights is yet to be seen. And that question comes at a time when sand mining is booming in the area. Read more »