§ 1-42.2. Certain additional ancient mineral claims extinguished; oil, gas and mineral interests to be recorded and listed for taxation.
§1‑42.2. Certain additional ancient mineral claims extinguished; oil, gasand mineral interests to be recorded and listed for taxation.
(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 titleholder 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 10 years prior to January 1, 1971,any person, having the legal capacity to own land in this State, who has on September1, 1971, an unbroken chain of title of record to such surface estate of sucharea of land for at least 50 years and provided such surface estate is not inthe adverse possession of another, shall be deemed to have a marketable titleto such surface estate as provided in the succeeding subsections of thissection, subject to such interests and defects as are inherent in theprovisions and limitations contained in the muniments of which such chain ofrecord 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 at least 50 but not more than 56 years prior to September1, 1971, and such oil, gas or mineral interests are hereby declared to be nulland void and of no effect whatever at law or in equity: Provided, however, thatany such fee simple oil, gas or mineral interest may be preserved and kepteffective by recording within two years after September 1, 1971, a notice inwriting duly sworn to and subscribed before an official authorized to take probateby G.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) Within two yearsfrom November 1, 1971, all oil, gas or mineral interests in lands severed orseparated from the surface fee simple ownership must be listed for ad valoremtaxes and notice of such interest must be filed in writing in the mannerprovided by G.S. 1‑ 42.2(b) and recorded in the local registry in thebook provided by G.S. 1‑42, to be effective against the surface feesimple owner or creditors, purchasers, heirs or assigns of such owner.Subsurface oil, gas and mineral interests shall be assessed for ad valoremtaxes as real property and such taxes shall be collected and foreclosed in the manner authorized by Chapter 105 of the General Statutes of North Carolina. Theboard of county commissioners shall publish a notice of this subsection in anewspaper published in the county or having general circulation in the countyonce a week for four consecutive weeks prior to November 1, 1971.
The provisions of thissubsection shall apply to the following counties: Rowan, Anson, Buncombe,Catawba, Davidson, Durham, Franklin, Guilford, Haywood, Hoke, Iredell, Jackson,Madison, Montgomery, Moore, Person, Richmond, Robeson, Scotland, Swain,Transylvania, Union, Wake, Warren and Yancey. (1971, c. 235, s. 1; c. 855.)