Mapping Minerals Titles

Owned by Editor9
Oct 06, 2022
4 min read

General

Minerals are one of a small class of rights which are capable of constituting a separate tenement in land - the legal expression "separate tenement" refers to any heritable property which is owned separately from the solum of the ground. Therefore, it is possible to have a title to the minerals that is separate and distinct from the title to the ground in which those minerals lie. Under the 2012 Act, a separate tenement constitutes a plot of land, and the Keeper must make up and maintain a title sheet for each registered plot of land. Minerals, being a separate tenement, are treated as a plot of land, and an ownership title relating to minerals will have its own title sheet and cadastral unit.

Most titles are either silent with regards to the minerals, or carry the minerals as a pertinent of the plot of land (see Legal Topic - Mineral Titles for more details). However, the Keeper may receive an application to register only minerals within an area, or an application to register a deed that specifically conveys both an area of ground and an area of minerals that are being transferred as a separate tenement; this second scenario will result in the creation of two title sheets with two cadastral units - one for the area of ground, and one for the area of minerals. See Creation of Mineral Title Sheet - Intake Process on the Minerals titles page for more details on the process of creating the two applications. 

Useful links

Legal Topic - Mineral titles

Mapping Leases


Key points for plans settlers

The plans registration process for a minerals title is very similar to that for the registration of an area of ground. The key points and differences are set out below:

Mapping the plot
  • The cadastral unit can be mapped in the same manner as cadastral units for areas of ground, using a red edge or tints depending upon which is most appropriate for the particular cadastral unit.
  • If the application is to register the ownership of minerals, the cadastral unit should be classified as Ownership of Minerals. (If a very specific type of mineral such as coal is being registered, or a separate legal tenement such as gold & silver, please select the appropriate classification from the available list in Plan Creator).
  • If the application is to register the tenant's interest in a lease of minerals, the leased extent should be classified as Lease.
  • Minerals titles can include rights (such as rights of access) or be burdened by encumbrances. As with applications to register other types of legal tenement, this information will be included in the deeds and the application form, and the same guidelines on acceptability, etc apply. See Plans references for specific rights, burdens and servitudes for more general guidance on this.
Adding the LRS information
  • The real right field in the property section of the title sheet will be Ownership or Tenancy - the fact that it is ownership or tenancy of minerals is disclosed in the property description itself, not in this field.
  • If the minerals title sheet is for the real right of ownership, the hectarage of the cadastral unit should be entered in the property section of the title sheet when the area of the cadastral unit is 0.5 hectares or is greater than 0.5 hectares. The hectarage of the cadastral unit is not entered if it is the tenant's interest in a lease of the minerals that is being registered.
  • When entering the property description into the property section of a minerals title sheet, careful consideration should be given to the wording of the deed. This wording should be carried forward from the deed to give a clear description of exactly which minerals are included within the title. See Sample Property Section Styles - Minerals for examples of property sections relating to minerals titles.
  • If the area of ground is already registered in the land register (the separate tenement to the land), the Keeper is obliged to disclose the title numbers in the property section of the title sheet (a Schedule of Separate Tenements will be added by the legal settler). There is no requirement for a reference to be added to the cadastral map for the extent of the "land" titles. The plans officer should include a note in the title notes to the legal settler on the LRS giving the title number(s). If your application is an FR, then this information can be added to the FR Remarks to Legal template under Existing Registrations.
    • For example, "LANxxx - land"
    • For example, "LANxxx & LANyyy - land".


Leases of minerals

As minerals are capable of being owned and registered as a separate tenement, it is also possible to grant and register a lease of minerals. A lease of minerals will also have its own title sheet, in accordance with the Keeper's policy in relation to leases. If the ownership of the minerals is not already registered, registration of a tenant's right to those minerals will trigger automatic plot registration (APR) under section 24 of the 2012 Act. In this instance, however, the plot that will be registered is the separate tenement of minerals. As with dispositions of minerals, the registration process for dealing with leases of minerals is very similar to that for dealing with leases of ground. See Mapping Leases and Automatic Plot Registration - plans guidance for more general guidance on those subjects. 




Sample Property Section Styles - Minerals


Registers of Scotland (RoS) seeks to ensure that the information published in the 2012 Act Registration Manual is up to date and accurate but it may be amended from time to time.
The Manual is an internal document intended for RoS staff only. The information in the Manual does not constitute legal or professional advice and RoS cannot accept any liability for actions arising from its use.
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