(1) ' Mineral rights are property rights that confer upon the holder the right to exploit an area for the minerals it harbors. Ownership of mineral rights is the right of the owner to exploit, mine, and/or produce any or all of the minerals lying below the surface of the property. The mineral estate of the land includes all organic and inorganic substances that form a part of the soil.' -- Wikipedia.
(2) Selling a mining company the rights to whatever minerals might lie beneath your land is a "Shylock's bargain" because in selling your mineral rights you agree that the mining company has the legal right to destroy all your property above the ground while the miners dig down to where the minerals supposedly are. If only William Shakespeare's Portia* were a real woman lawyer, she would have gotten the miners' case thrown out of court lickety-split -- as is only right and proper, considering how idiotic and truly insane the notion of "mineral rights" really is. And yet, it unbelievably is the law of this great country of ours, where EVERYONE is said be equal, NOT just the billionaire owners of mining companies. -- Dinkum
* Portia is a character in Shakespeare's play "Merchant of Venice".
PLOT SUMMARY: Shylock makes Antonio a loan which says: if Antonio is unable to repay, Shylock may take a pound of Antonio's flesh. Shylock takes Antonio to court; if Shylock wins, he intends to cut out enough of Antonio's heart as would satisfy the terms of the loan -- and kill Antonio.
(2) Selling a mining company the rights to whatever minerals might lie beneath your land is a "Shylock's bargain" because in selling your mineral rights you agree that the mining company has the legal right to destroy all your property above the ground while the miners dig down to where the minerals supposedly are. If only William Shakespeare's Portia* were a real woman lawyer, she would have gotten the miners' case thrown out of court lickety-split -- as is only right and proper, considering how idiotic and truly insane the notion of "mineral rights" really is. And yet, it unbelievably is the law of this great country of ours, where EVERYONE is said be equal, NOT just the billionaire owners of mining companies. -- Dinkum
* Portia is a character in Shakespeare's play "Merchant of Venice".
PLOT SUMMARY: Shylock makes Antonio a loan which says: if Antonio is unable to repay, Shylock may take a pound of Antonio's flesh. Shylock takes Antonio to court; if Shylock wins, he intends to cut out enough of Antonio's heart as would satisfy the terms of the loan -- and kill Antonio.
EXAMPLE:
' "Don't matter if you care," the old miner said, "if you don't own what you care about." He pointed out that the mineral rights to the entire county in which they sat were owned by the Rosewater Coal and Iron Company, which acquired these rights soon after the end of the Civil War. "The law says," he went on, "when a man owns something under the ground and he wants to get at it, you got to let him tear up anything between the surface and what he owns."
' The truth was that Rosewater . . . had been among the principal destroyers of the surface and the people of West Virginia. '
-- From Kurt Vonnegut's 1973 novel "Breakfast of Champions" -- Chapter 14 (page 125 - 126).
* Portia's closing argument at trial: In court, Antonio's lawyer is a woman in lawyerly disguise, who just happens to be Portia, friend of Antonio. Portia deftly appropriates Shylock's argument for 'specific performance', and points out that the contract only allows Shylock to remove the flesh, not the "blood", of Antonio. Thus, if Shylock were to shed any drop of Antonio's blood, his "lands and goods" would be forfeited under Venetian laws. Further damning Shylock's case, she tells him that he must cut precisely one pound of flesh, no more, no less; she advises him that "if the scale do turn, But in the estimation of a hair, Thou diest and all thy goods are confiscate."
' "Don't matter if you care," the old miner said, "if you don't own what you care about." He pointed out that the mineral rights to the entire county in which they sat were owned by the Rosewater Coal and Iron Company, which acquired these rights soon after the end of the Civil War. "The law says," he went on, "when a man owns something under the ground and he wants to get at it, you got to let him tear up anything between the surface and what he owns."
' The truth was that Rosewater . . . had been among the principal destroyers of the surface and the people of West Virginia. '
-- From Kurt Vonnegut's 1973 novel "Breakfast of Champions" -- Chapter 14 (page 125 - 126).
* Portia's closing argument at trial: In court, Antonio's lawyer is a woman in lawyerly disguise, who just happens to be Portia, friend of Antonio. Portia deftly appropriates Shylock's argument for 'specific performance', and points out that the contract only allows Shylock to remove the flesh, not the "blood", of Antonio. Thus, if Shylock were to shed any drop of Antonio's blood, his "lands and goods" would be forfeited under Venetian laws. Further damning Shylock's case, she tells him that he must cut precisely one pound of flesh, no more, no less; she advises him that "if the scale do turn, But in the estimation of a hair, Thou diest and all thy goods are confiscate."
by Dinkum September 6, 2013
Get the mineral rightsmug. by !@3Whatitis@$$# July 2, 2016
Get the def rightmug. A right wing paramillitary organisation Commanded by genaral in cheif rohit and second in command aditya . Their forces are in practise controlled by known terrorist and blackie hunter Andre. The Right idea hell bent on reinstating the patreiarchy and removing the metal illness out of "Fruitys". More on aditya hes known for being behind such things as the fake sucide of bin laden and adolf hitler respectivly and it has been suggested he was behind 9\11. Rohit is known for staging a number of incidents off the pakistani border and is blamed for the genocide of islamabad. Andre is known for the murder of a number of canadian cidacins who put pinapple on their pizzas and has invented a number of torturing methods such as death by cinderblock drowning, pinapple pizza smothering and of course shoving a plate of caltzoni up ur victims ass sidways, He is also a famous terrorist and after bin laden faked his death andre offered shelter to osama, he has been plotting osama bin ladins return since his "death". They met together to form their organisation after 9\11 and they met thanks to all their connections to bin laden.
by 45678909872 December 6, 2023
Get the The Right Ideamug. 
A Woodchipper Rights Activist is one who believes that all people deserve the right to leap headfirst into a woodchipper and if the "evil government" stops them from doing so, the fact they were stopped from leaping headfirst into a woodchipper is "the worst kind of tyranny". To make matters worse, the woodchipper rights activists are often taken to hospitals after their brushes with woodchippers, either due to injury or suspected mental health issues, which doubles up on the tyranny, and the encounter becomes the "WORST worst kind of tyranny" , doubling up on the worst's and capitalizing on them as well. Woodchipper rights activists can be seen about noon, rousing from sleep in their parents basement to declare literally everything thats ever been done is "the worst kind of tyranny"
"bruh, that woodchipper rights activist damn near died yesterday. He just tries to leap into the woodchipper to prove he has real freedom"
by Wypipo whisperer September 16, 2020
Get the Woodchipper Rights Activistmug. person 1: “hey-“
person 2: “is ur name max?”
person 1: “no”
person 2: “then shut up challenge, when the government said ‘human rights’, they never meant you. #SILENCEUNMAXVOICES”
person 2: “is ur name max?”
person 1: “no”
person 2: “then shut up challenge, when the government said ‘human rights’, they never meant you. #SILENCEUNMAXVOICES”
by lilispad June 15, 2021
Get the Human Rightsmug. OH WOW! I WONDER WHY THAT IS HAPPENING! PROBABLY DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOUTUBE, THAT'S FOR SURE!
Hym "Human Rights Watchlist!? Perish the thought! I mean, it's not like you have an American company very publicly manufacturing a mental illness around the guy who created AI (also very publicly) because you didn't think he could do it so you tried make a mockery of hym live streaming him while he poops and doing the weaponized schizophrenia he described to hym in a very public way! So why are we on a human rights watchlist though?"
by Hym Iam May 17, 2025
Get the Human Rights Watchlistmug.