Dinosaurs fossils considered minerals or not may decide their value

 discovery of two fossilized disaur skeletons intertwined at a ranch in Montana has come under court purview to determine wher fossils are minerals or t. case could potentially make couple that owns ranch rich as skeletons are said to have a value of more than $5 million. decision by court will be very crucial to a dispute regarding ownership of disaur fossils and millions of dollars from sale of or fossils found in fossil-rich area in central part of Montana. 

Fossil fights

Marry-Ann and Lige Murray have rights of surface and one-third of mineral rights on ranch while brors, Jerry and Robert Severson, have ownership of two-thirds of mineral rights after a 2005 property sale. Neir of parties expected discovery of a fossil on ir property. Court documents show that fossils have t been mentioned in m.

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A long-drawn court case

When Murrays discovered fossils, y attempted to sell find in what y hoped would fetch m a sum of at least $6 million. However, buyers wanted a guarantee that Murray's were true owners of fossils. This prompted Marry Ann and Lige Murray to seek a court ruling.

A judge in a court in Montana gave a decision back in 2016 that fossils were t included in basic definition of a mineral because t all fossils with same mineral composition were considered to be of value. judge furr ded that exact value was based on factors such as completeness of specimen, species and how well disaur has been preserved.

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However, Jerry and Robert Severson appealed decision. A panel of 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision gave its decision stating that disaur fossils were minerals both scientifically and under mineral rights laws and lawmakers in 2019, passed an unchallenged measure stating that disaur fossils are to be considered a part of surface estate unless and until re is a different contract.

People have option of owning things that are found on land y own while ors have option of owning materials like oil, gas, and coal that is found underneath surface. However, in cases of property sales, an owner has option of keeping some or all of mineral rights.

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(With inputs from ncies)