What I do know as a fact, and I learned this from a man who owned a farm complete with mineral rights, is this: Anything on your property that is 1m+ below the surface BELONGS TO THE GOVERNMENT and that includes WATER and all MINERALS. There’s no such thing as mineral rights. The Govt owns everything. It took this away in the 1990s already. The Govt has the right to send a company on to your own property to mine it with or without your permission.