What is a mineral title report?
A mineral title report is a documented analysis of who owns the mineral rights in a specific tract of land. It traces the chain of title through recorded instruments, states current ownership and fractional interests, flags encumbrances, and notes defects that may need curative work. Operators, landmen, attorneys, and royalty owners rely on it before drilling, acquiring, or financing mineral interests. It is a non-legal title analysis and is not a substitute for a legal title opinion or a title insurance policy.
Report vs. runsheet — what's the difference?
A runsheet is a chronological abstract — every recorded instrument affecting a tract, in date order — that serves as the raw foundation for a title analysis or an attorney's drilling title opinion. A mineral title report goes further: it interprets those instruments to state current ownership, fractional interests, encumbrances, and curative recommendations.
What is chain-of-title verification?
Targeted research to confirm or reconstruct a specific link in the ownership chain — for example, validating a particular conveyance for a transaction or curative purpose — supported by the underlying recorded documents.
What is curative title work?
Curative work resolves defects that break or cloud the chain of title — missing heirs, scrivener's errors, gaps in the record, or ambiguous conveyances. We identify the defect and the specific curative path, and coordinate with your counsel to clear it.
How long does a mineral title report take?
Standard reports are typically delivered in 7–14 business days, scoped to the tract and the depth of research required. Rush turnaround is available when timelines demand it.
How is pricing structured?
Flat-fee, scoped per project. We tell you what it costs, when you'll have it, and what's included before work begins — no open-ended hourly billing.
What states do you cover?
BIC REA researches mineral records across 30+ states nationwide, with particular depth on Florida-specific issues. We're Sarasota-based and serve energy and real estate clients across the United States.
What is Florida's MRTA, and why does it matter?
The Marketable Record Title Act (MRTA) is a Florida statute that can extinguish older interests — including severed mineral reservations — if they aren't properly preserved within the statutory framework. It makes Florida mineral title analysis unusually nuanced, because a reservation appearing in an old deed may or may not survive under MRTA. This is general information, not legal advice; specific MRTA questions should be reviewed with licensed counsel.
Do you handle Florida phosphate and aggregate rights?
Yes. Florida has a long history of severed mineral estates tied to phosphate and aggregate, which raise questions most general title researchers can't speak to. We have specific depth on Florida severed-estate, phosphate, and aggregate issues.
Do you subcontract the work?
No. When you hire BIC REA, BIC REA does the work — no farming research to a back office, no unfamiliar junior staff. The person on your file is the person you talk to.
Is this the same as a title opinion or title insurance?
No. Mineral title research is a non-legal title analysis. It is not a legal title opinion from a licensed attorney and not a title insurance policy. Many clients use our research as the factual foundation their attorney relies on to render an opinion.
Who typically uses mineral title research?
Energy operators, landmen, oil and gas attorneys, and royalty owners — anyone who needs to establish or verify mineral ownership before drilling, buying, selling, leasing, financing, or curing title.