If a person gains title through adverse possession, does that include both the surface and mineral rights for that property?
If the surface and minerals were unsevered (owned by the same person) at the time the person who acquired title by adverse possession first occupied the property, his or her title will include the minerals as well as the surface. This is true even if the real owner sells the minerals at some time before the possession has extended long enough for title to become vested in the possesor. On the other hand, if the minerals (or some interest in the minerals) has been sold before the adverse possession begins, the mineral title will not be affected by adverse possession of just the surface. For adverse possession to affect the minerals under those circumstances, the person claiming title by adverse possession would have to be producing minerals from the property.
