Hiring a Geological Consultant

General Mineral Rights Discussion
1

My sister and I inherited the mineral rights, not the surface rights, on a piece of property in Summit County, UT. I spoke with an employee of the state geological service at length a couple of weeks ago and he advised me to hire a geological consultant to determine if the mineral rights have value. The state geologist said that based on his studies in the area there is a "possibility" of some value, but he couldn't be certain. Nothing of significance has been found on neighboring properties.

I haven't contacted a geological consultant yet. I'm concerned the cost would be exorbitant and if the mineral rights are worthless, we'd be out quite a bit of money. The property consists of about 1200 acres.

Any ideas on how much a geological study would cost?

Thanks,

Scott

2

Depending on the available data it could be very expensive. Good geologists and geophysicists charge about $450 an hour (or that is what my guy charges).

If your rights have no significant value, then it is not likely to be leased. If that is the case, you could always develop your own minerals, but that is out of the financial and technical reach of most people.

Best,

Buddy Cotten

3

What is an heir hunter? I have some idea but think it could have a better name. My 2 cents.

4

I went into environmental science and I could be making $450 an hour as a geologist. Should have looked that up prior to my four years of study. OUCH!

5

Geology is a great degree to have. Especially for oil and gas. I think that is the area I lack the most knowledge about in this industry for sure.

6

I can refer you to several consulting geologists, knowledgeable in the area, who would work for $600-$700 per day.

Are you trying to determine a value for estate purposes or just curious about what potential it may have? The former should be a short engagement, maybe only a couple of days. The latter could run for weeks or even months depending on how serious you are.

There have been some big discoveries in Summit County, but not much recently. As Buddy Cotten points out, if it was in a hot area it would likely already be leased. To paraphrase a famous movie line: "If you have it, they will come."