§ 1-42.1. Certain ancient mineral claims extinguished in certain counties.
§1‑42.1. Certain ancient mineral claims extinguished in certain counties.
(a) Where it appears onthe public records that the fee simple title to any oil, gas or mineralinterests in an area of land has been severed or separated from the surface feesimple ownership of such land and such interest is not in actual course ofbeing mined, drilled, worked or operated, or in the adverse possession ofanother, or that the record title holder of any such oil, gas or mineralinterests has not listed the same for ad valorem tax purposes in the county inwhich the same is located for a period of ten (10) years prior to January 1,1965, any person, having the legal capacity to own land in this State, who hason September 1, 1965 an unbroken chain of title of record to such surfaceestate of such area of land for fifty (50) years or more, and provided suchsurface estate is not in the adverse possession of another, shall be deemed tohave a marketable title to such surface estate as provided in the succeedingsubsections of this section, subject to such interests and defects as areinherent in the provisions and limitations contained in the muniments of which such chain of record title is formed.
(b) Such marketabletitle shall be held by such person and shall be taken by his successors ininterest free and clear of any and all such fee simple oil, gas or mineralinterests in such area of land founded upon any reservation or exceptioncontained in an instrument conveying the surface estate in fee simple which wasexecuted or recorded fifty (50) years or more prior to September 1, 1965, andsuch oil, gas or mineral interests are hereby declared to be null and void andof no effect whatever at law or in equity: Provided, however, that any such feesimple oil, gas or mineral interest may be preserved and kept effective byrecording within two (2) years after September 1, 1965, a notice in writingduly sworn to and subscribed before an official authorized to take probate byG.S. 47‑1, which sets forth the nature of such oil, gas or mineralinterest and gives the book and page where recorded. Such notice shall beprobated as required for registration of instruments by G.S. 47‑14 andrecorded in the office of the register of deeds of the county wherein such areaof land, or any part thereof lies, and in the book therein kept or providedunder the terms of G.S. 1‑42 for the purpose of recording certainseverances of surface and subsurface land rights, and shall state the name andaddress of the claimant and, if known, the name of the surface owner and alsocontain either such a description of the area of land involved as to make saidproperty readily located thereby or due incorporation by reference of therecorded instrument containing the reservation or exception of such oil, gas ormineral interest. Such notice may be made and recorded by the claimant or byany other person acting on behalf of any claimant who is either under adisability, unable to assert a claim on his own behalf, or one of a class butwhose identity cannot be established or is uncertain at the time of filing suchnotice of claim for record.
(c) This section shallbe construed to effect the legislative purpose of facilitating land titletransactions by extinguishing certain ancient oil, gas or mineral claims unlesspreserved by recording as herein provided. The oil, gas or mineral claimshereby extinguished shall include those of persons whether within or withoutthe State, and whether natural or corporate, but shall exclude governmentalclaims, State or federal, and all such claims by reason of unexpired oil, gasor mineral releases.
(d) All oil, gas ormineral interests in lands severed or separated from the surface fee simpleownership must be listed for ad valorem taxes and notice of such interest mustbe filed in writing in the manner provided by G.S. 1‑42.1(b) and recordedin the local registry in the book provided by G.S. 1‑42 within two yearsfrom September 1, 1967, to be effective against the surface fee simple owner orcreditors, purchasers, heirs or assigns of such owner. Subsurface oil, gas andmineral interests shall be assessed for ad valorem taxes as real property andsuch taxes shall be collected and foreclosed in the manner authorized byChapter 105 of the General Statutes of North Carolina. The board of countycommissioners shall publish a notice of this subsection in a newspaperpublished in the county or having general circulation in the county once a weekfor four consecutive weeks prior to September 1, 1967.
The provisions of thissubsection shall apply to the following counties: Anson, Buncombe, Durham,Franklin, Guilford, Hoke, Jackson, Montgomery, Person, Richmond, Swain,Transylvania, Union, Wake and Warren. (1965, c. 1072, s. 1; 1967,c. 905.)