What do mineral rights refer to?

Mineral rights specifically pertain to the rights to explore for, develop, and extract the mineral resources that lie beneath the surface of a property. This includes valuable commodities such as oil, gas, coal, metals, and other mineral resources. Ownership of mineral rights can vary independently of surface land ownership, meaning one party can own the land while another party owns the mineral rights.

Understanding this definition is important, particularly in contexts where land acquisition and resource extraction are involved, as it dictates who has the authority to access and profit from the subsurface materials. This is why the correct answer is centered on the rights to subsurface resources, distinguishing it clearly from other forms of property rights such as surface land ownership, permissions to build, or rights to water resources. These other options do not encompass the specific focus of mineral rights, which is solely concerned with the extraction and management of the subsurface materials.