2005 California Civil Code Sections 883.210-883.270 Article 2. Termination of Dormant Mineral Right

883.210.  The owner of real property subject to a mineral right may
bring an action to terminate the mineral right pursuant to this
article if the mineral right is dormant.
883.220.  For the purpose of this article, a mineral right is
dormant if all of the following conditions are satisfied for a period
of 20 years immediately preceding commencement of the action to
terminate the mineral right:
   (a) There is no production of the minerals and no exploration,
drilling, mining, development, or other operations that affect the
minerals, whether on or below the surface of the real property or on
other property, whether or not unitized or pooled with the real
property.
   (b) No separate property tax assessment is made of the mineral
right or, if made, no taxes are paid on the assessment.
   (c) No instrument creating, reserving, transferring, or otherwise
evidencing the mineral right is recorded.
883.230.  (a) An owner of a mineral right may at any time record a
notice of intent to preserve the mineral right.
   (b) In lieu of the statement of the character of the interest
claimed and the record location of the documents creating or
evidencing the mineral rights claimed as otherwise required by
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 880.330 and in lieu of
the legal description of the real property in which the interest is
claimed as otherwise required by paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of
Section 880.330 and notwithstanding the provisions of Section 880.340
or any other provision in this title, a notice of intent to preserve
a mineral right may refer generally and without specificity to any
or all mineral rights claimed by claimant in any real property
situated in the county.
   (c) A mineral right is not dormant for the purpose of this article
if:
   (1) A notice of intent to preserve the mineral right is recorded
within 20 years immediately preceding commencement of the action to
terminate the mineral right.
   (2) A notice of intent to preserve the mineral right is recorded
pursuant to Section 883.250 after commencement of the action to
terminate the mineral right.
883.240.  (a) An action to terminate a mineral right pursuant to
this article shall be brought in the superior court of the county in
which the real property subject to the mineral right is located.
   (b) The action shall be brought in the same manner and shall be
subject to the same procedure as an action to quiet title pursuant to
Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 760.010) of Title 10 of Part 2 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, to the extent applicable.
883.250.  In an action to terminate a mineral right pursuant to this
article, the court shall permit the owner of the mineral right to
record a late notice of intent to preserve the mineral right as a
condition of dismissal of the action, upon payment into court for the
benefit of the owner of the real property the litigation expenses
attributable to the mineral right or portion thereof as to which the
notice is recorded.  As used in this section, the term "litigation
expenses" means recoverable costs and expenses reasonably and
necessarily incurred in preparation for the action, including a
reasonable attorney's fee.
883.260.  A mineral right terminated pursuant to this article is
unenforceable and is deemed to have expired.  A court order
terminating a mineral right pursuant to this article is equivalent
for all purposes to a conveyance of the mineral right to the owner of
the real property.
883.270.  Subject to Section 880.370 (grace period for recording
notice), this article applies to all mineral rights, whether executed
or recorded before, on, or after January 1, 1985.