Mont. Code Ann. » TITLE 1. GENERAL LAWS AND DEFINITIONS · CHAPTER 4. INTERPRETATION OF INSTRUMENTS · Part 1. General Provisions
Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 1-4-111 (2026)

Purpose

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  1. MCA Contents
  2. TITLE 1
  3. CHAPTER 4
  4. Part 1
  5. 1-4-111 Purpose

TITLE 1. GENERAL LAWS AND DEFINITIONS

CHAPTER 4. INTERPRETATION OF INSTRUMENTS

Part 1. General Provisions

Purpose

1-4-111. Purpose. (1) The purpose of 1-4-112, 82-1-501, and this section is to enact into law a presumptive understanding that fossils are not minerals and that fossils belong to the surface estate, unless conveyed by a clear and express grant.

(2) It is the intent of the legislature that 1-4-112, 82-1-501, and this section apply prospectively and retroactively to instruments governed by Montana law to the maximum extent possible under the constitutions of the United States and the state of Montana.

History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 136, L. 2019.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 2020–2020 · leading case: Murray v. BEJ Minerals, 2020 MT 131, 400 Mont. 135.
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Murray v. BEJ Minerals, 2020 MT 131, 400 Mont. 135. · cites it 2× “See § 1-4-111(2), MCA (2019). 7 parties. On both occasions we were informed by the reasoning of an often-cited 1949 decision by the Supreme Court of Texas in Heinatz: In our opinion substances such as sand, gravel and limestone are not minerals within the ordinary and natural…”
Mont. Code Ann. § 1-4-111(2): 1 case
Murray v. BEJ Minerals, 2020 MT 131, 400 Mont. 135. “See § 1-4-111(2), MCA (2019). 7 parties. On both occasions we were informed by the reasoning of an often-cited 1949 decision by the Supreme Court of Texas in Heinatz: In our opinion substances such as sand, gravel and limestone are not minerals within the ordinary and natural…”
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