Quote:
Originally Posted by ZenGum
I think that is the big difference. I believe that in Australia, owning the surface of the land does not mean you own the minerals beneath it. I believe that in the USA, it does.
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That's right Zen. So that means that as a 'speculater', you can put a mining lease on any land either privately and even sometimes government owned and the legal owner can't do jack shit about it. The only things on the land that are safe and not allowed to be disturbed are existing constructions an a small amount of land around said structures. The problem arrises when your lease needs access roads etc. There's no law saying how much the land owner can or cannot charge you to access your mine.
Generally though, because it's in the best interest of the mine to keep locals on side, they'll compensate land owners.