Many people are often confused whether to sell the mineral rights or to lease them. Every deal has its pros and cons. However, people prefer to sell their mineral rights due to the uncertainties in the values of the minerals and the markets. Even though selling mineral rights is like clearing the burden to get a lump sum amount which meets ones requirements, there are few risks which are involved in them which are comparatively small when the benefits of selling the rights are considered.
The first disadvantage in selling the mineral rights is that you loose the opportunity to benefit from the future exploration. You can receive a single payment in huge amounts for the life time and can never get a single penny once your rights are completely sold to the respective company. Whereas in case of lease the owner can get bonus at the point of agreement, and the royalties on the amount of mineral produced till the lease expires. Moreover, if the company didn't start exploring in the agreed lease period, the lease will automatically get expired, letting the land lord to lease the rights to another company.
Secondly, in the sale of rights, the land owner cannot pass his heirs the mineral rights along with the property. Hence they are unable to enjoy the benefits from the minerals beneath their surface. Finally, you loose the right on the portion of the property since it is assigned to explore and extract the minerals. You cannot restrict the companies to damage your property as it is clearly signed in the agreement prior to the sale. Whereas in case of lease, you have control over how the land is used.
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