This page is general information about one specialist conveyancing search. It is not legal advice and it does not tell you whether this search is required on your purchase. Ethical Conveyancing (TG Legal Services) is an introducer, not a regulated law firm. Panel solicitors regulated by the SRA do the legal work. If a mines and minerals search is ordered on your file, your solicitor will report the result and explain what it means for that property.
Last reviewed: 17 September 2026.
Buying a home usually means buying the land you can see — the garden, the driveway, the house. It does not always mean you own everything beneath it.
In many parts of England and Wales, mines and minerals were kept back when the land was first sold: reserved to a historic estate, a mining company, the Crown, or another mineral owner. A mines and minerals search is a specialist desktop report, ordered during conveyancing, that helps your solicitor check whether those rights appear to sit with the surface owner or have been kept separate — and what that may mean for your purchase.
It is not one of the core “standard” searches (local authority, environmental, water and drainage). It is a specialist search your solicitor may recommend when the title or the location raises questions about mineral rights under the property. The parent guide is Property searches — what they cover and typical costs.
Why it matters
Most buyers assume “freehold” means the ground under the house as well. UK law starts from that idea — but there are important exceptions.
HM Land Registry and government guidance are clear that mines and minerals can be owned separately from the surface. Gold and silver (and petroleum in its natural state) belong to the Crown. Other minerals — tin, copper, lead, ironstone, slate, brine and similar — are often in private ownership and may have been excepted or reserved decades or centuries ago. See Practice guide 65: registration of mines and minerals and the British Geological Survey overview of UK mineral ownership.
That separation can matter because:
- the title may exclude minerals the buyer thought they were getting;
- a third party may hold rights to work minerals (sometimes with limited surface access, sometimes with wider powers — it depends on the deed);
- lenders, surveyors and buyers’ solicitors increasingly want clarity before exchange;
- if the issue only surfaces late, completion can be delayed while enquiries, indemnity insurance or further title work catch up.
GOV.UK’s plain-English note on historical rights that could affect your property puts it simply: in parts of England and Wales it is fairly common that one person owns the surface and someone else owns the land below.
A mines and minerals search is how many conveyancers close that gap between “what the buyer assumes” and “what the records actually show”.
What the search covers
Providers differ in product name and depth, but a typical mines and minerals search reports on:
- whether mineral rights appear to be included with the surface title or reserved / excepted to a third party;
- historic mining or extraction recorded in the datasets the report uses (tin, lead, copper, slate, ironstone and similar, depending on the product);
- any indication of remaining or proposed extraction where that sits in the registers covered;
- notes your solicitor will read against the official copies of the title and, where relevant, a Search of the Index Map for a separate mineral title.
It is a records search. It is not a structural survey, not a ground investigation, and not a guarantee that the ground will never move.
What are the risks of not having one (when your solicitor advises it)?
Skipping a recommended mines and minerals search does not automatically mean something bad will happen. It does mean you and your solicitor may be buying with a blind spot on a point that can affect title, lender comfort and future plans for the land.
Practical risks when the search is recommended and is not done include:
- Unknown reservations. You may complete without a clear picture of who owns the minerals under the plot — and whether any working rights sit with that ownership.
- Lender or valuation friction. Some mortgage offers and panel requirements expect mining / mineral enquiries in certain postcodes. A gap can slow the advance or trigger last-minute conditions.
- Delayed exchange or completion. Ordering late — after other searches have already flagged a concern — costs time when you can least afford it.
- Weaker negotiating position. If a reservation or separate mineral title only appears after you are emotionally and financially committed, your options narrow.
- Future sale or development snags. Mineral exclusions and safeguarding areas can complicate extensions, basement works or a later sale to a cautious buyer. Specialist firms routinely flag this when advising on strategic or residential land (for example Michelmores on rights to mines and minerals).
None of that is a reason to panic on every purchase. Plenty of urban freeholds never need this search. It is a reason to take your solicitor seriously when they say your address, title or earlier search results justify ordering one.
National stories and official guidance — why this keeps making the news
These are not scare stories invented for marketing. They are public, checkable examples of why mineral ownership still matters to ordinary homeowners:
- GOV.UK — historical rights under homes
Official guidance explains that it is fairly common for one person to own the surface and someone else to own the mines and minerals below. Mines and minerals rights can include owning the minerals outright and, depending on the right, taking them with or without the surface owner’s agreement. Read the guidance. - BBC — thousands of homeowners notified about subterranean mining rights (Patchway / Bristol, 2013)
Around 4,000 homeowners received Land Registry manorial-rights notices about subterranean mining rights under their properties — a reminder that mineral interests can sit separately from the house you buy. BBC News. - BBC — Duchy of Lancaster mineral rights in Northamptonshire (2013)
Homeowners in Raunds and Irchester — a historic iron-ore area — were notified that the Duchy of Lancaster was registering manorial mineral rights. Surface ownership did not automatically mean mineral ownership. BBC News. - The Guardian — Welwyn Garden City mineral rights dispute (2013)
National coverage of the Marquess of Salisbury asserting manorial mineral rights under homes, amid the Land Registration Act 2002 deadline for protecting certain rights on the register. The Guardian. The Law Society Gazette later reported parliamentary scrutiny of the manorial-rights registration wave. - Land Registry practice
Practice guide 65 sets out how mines and minerals can be registered separately from the surface. If a Search of the Index Map shows a separate mineral title, official copies of that title become part of the picture your solicitor needs.
Careful note: under the Land Registration Act 2002, many manorial rights lost overriding status if not protected by October 2013 — but mines and minerals held as an estate in land can still be registered with evidence. That is why a clean modern freehold is not always the end of the minerals question (see the GOV.UK historical-rights guidance above).
How this sits next to other searches
| Search | Typical question it answers |
|---|---|
| Mines and minerals | Who appears to own the mineral rights under the land, and what mining / extraction history shows in the report? |
| Environmental | What do desktop datasets say about contamination, flood, some ground stability, radon? |
| Survey | What can a surveyor see of the building and, within scope, the ground? |
Do not treat this article as a second full explainer of the core pack. For the pack, cash buyers, costs and abortive fees, use property searches.
When your solicitor says you need one — what happens next
Your solicitor will advise after property searches have been completed if a Mines and Minerals Search is required. If so, we will contact you to arrange ordering one and provide it to your solicitor.
For existing Ethical Conveyancing customers, the fee for a mines and minerals search is £119. Once paid, we order the search and send the result to your solicitor when it returns.
Need a Mines and Minerals Search? Click here to Order one
£119 for existing Ethical Conveyancing customers. The link takes you to a secure Stripe payment page.
Turnaround is often a few working days once ordered — typically faster than a local authority search — but still add buffer if exchange is close.
Why people instruct through Ethical
Ethical Conveyancing is an introducer, not a regulated law firm. Panel solicitors do the legal work. What you get with us:
- Fixed legal fees — from £400 on a sale or purchase, from £230 on a remortgage. The legal fee we quote is the legal fee you pay. Disbursements (searches, Land Registry, and the like) sit on top.
- No Move, No Legal Fee — if the transaction does not complete, you do not pay our legal fee. Disbursements already incurred are still payable.
- A highly rated solicitor on our panel — not a call-centre file. Rated 4.9/5 or higher on review sites.
- A dedicated support manager and an online portal so you can track the file without chasing.
- A clear quote in under 60 seconds. We are not always the cheapest headline on a five-quote shop. We sell a fixed, itemised legal fee and a file you can actually follow.
Buying? Get a buying quote — the legal fee is fixed and separate from this search as a disbursement.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need one on every purchase?
No. Solicitors often order it in historic mining areas or where another search or the title flags a reservation. Your solicitor will say whether they intend to order it on your file.
How much does it cost with Ethical?
For existing Ethical Conveyancing customers, £119. Need a Mines and Minerals Search? Click here to Order one. Market figures elsewhere are often cited around £50–£150 as a disbursement.
How long does it take?
Often a few working days once ordered, not weeks.
What happens if the search flags a third-party interest?
Your solicitor reports it to you and advises on that file. This page does not prescribe insurance, a price reduction, or withdrawing.
I’m a cash buyer — does this still come up?
Sometimes, if the location or title warrants it. Cash buyers are not usually forced by a lender to have a particular specialist search, but many still follow their solicitor’s recommendation. Cash buyers and searches.
Related reading
- Property searches — what they cover and typical costs — parent guide
- How much does conveyancing cost in 2026?
- Buying a new build in 2026
- The conveyancing process, demystified