What is the difference between mining rights and surface rights?
Put simply, mining rights are the rights to the minerals located in, on or under the land. Surface rights refer to any right of land that is not mining rights. Many people like to think of “surface and mining rights” as “surface and subsurface rights.” This is not an accurate comparison as mining rights could be on the surface. If there are two different owners for the two rights they each have equal right of access to the surface.
