Mineral Deed
A recorded instrument that conveys the mineral estate — typically the right to lease, develop, and receive bonus and royalty income from oil and gas.
A mineral deed is the document that transfers ownership of the mineral interest in a tract from one party (the grantor) to another (the grantee). Unless it carves something out, a mineral deed conveys the full bundle: the right to lease, the right to receive a lease bonus, the right to delay rentals and royalty, and usually the executive right to sign an oil and gas lease.
That breadth is what separates a mineral deed from a royalty deed, which conveys only a share of production and no leasing or development power. Read the granting and reservation language closely — deeds often reserve a fraction, sever the executive right, or convey by net mineral acres rather than a percentage, and small wording differences change what the grantee actually owns.
To be effective against later buyers, a mineral deed must be properly executed, acknowledged, and recorded in the county where the land sits. An unrecorded deed can leave a gap in the chain of title. This is general information, not legal advice.