A buyer is interested in purchasing a 160-acre rural property in Alberta. The Seller's title search reveals that the Crown holds 100% of the mineral rights. What implication does this have for the buyer's potential use or income from the property?

Question: A buyer is interested in purchasing a 160-acre rural property in Alberta. The Seller's title search reveals that the Crown holds 100% of the mineral rights. What implication does this have for the buyer's potential use or income from the property?

Answer options:

• The buyer will receive 100% of any royalties from mineral extraction on the property.
• The buyer has the exclusive right to explore and extract minerals, subject to obtaining permits. ✅ The buyer will not own the mineral rights and will not receive royalties, but the surface rights may be subject to surface leases for mineral extraction.
• The buyer can apply to the Crown to purchase the mineral rights at a nominal fee.

Correct answer: The buyer will not own the mineral rights and will not receive royalties, but the surface rights may be subject to surface leases for mineral extraction.

Explanation: If the Crown holds 100% of the mineral rights, the buyer of the surface parcel will not own those rights nor receive royalties. However, the surface may still be utilized through surface leases by mineral developers to access the Crown's minerals, for which the current surface owner (the buyer) would receive compensation.