it depends on who has mineral rights' if you have them you own it way deep' if you don't have mineral rights its written in the land deed.

It depends if that is what is written on your deed. Often what is under the ground is shared with another owner, like partial water rights or mineral rights or even passage rights.

It depends on your deed. You can own from the core to outer space or you can only own the top layer.

Well, ram, as you can see it all depends on what the actual deed says. Theoretically ownership of surface land gives ownerships all the way to the core, if not the deed should explain what rights are not included. ( You also own the air above your land, all the way to infinity, this is primaraly to protect you from power lines etc and from someone building some sort of cantilevered structure over you, it doe not mean you can prevent planes from flying overhead, or charge the planets an access fee.) Previous owners may have sold subsurface rights, subsequent owners may not be aware of that, that is why a title search is done before transfer of rights, s'posed to find any previous transfers. Sometimes even with 'new' land some rights may have been sold, but the transfer is cleverly hidden in the deed. There should be a seperate section or even page in the deed with a list of all subsurface rights and who owns them. Some developers have been known to buy large tracts of land, sell the subsurface rights, build homes and eventually sell the entire tract. Homeowners may be surprised, some day, when a drilling rig shows up in their suburban area. There has been a lot of legal action in urbanized North Texas concerning the recent exploration of the Barnett Shale gas fields ( right under Dallas-Ft. Worth). Even if you own all rights you are still subject to eminent domain, which may allow the construction of pipelines and such thru your land or powerlines over it. That is the subject of some more litigation and legislation here in Texas. We have what are called Water Conservation Districts, people can draw up some boundries and if enough residents in that area approve a District with elected directors can pass zoning, taxing and other rules, and more inportantly gain the right of eminent domain. In the past it has been a tool of some arguably unscrupulous land developers. They buy up some sparesly settled land, move a few employees into mobil homes, six months later they have aquired resident status and vote in a District, allowing the developer to raise tax money and condemn property for his private profit. Recently T. Boone Pickens created such a district in the Texas Panhandle, he actually wants to pipe water from the Ogallala Aquifer to North Texas. Since he has the power of eminent domain, he is allowed to lay pipe across the property of land owners between his wells and delivery area, land that is not actually in the district and hundreds of miles from either end. He does have to pay a fee to the landowners, but they can not prevent the pipe laying, they may have to accept a fee decreed by a court. My family has had some experience in property and mining rights. During the depresion the big oil men showed up at the dry land family cotton farm and bought up oil, gas, and other rights in the area. Times were hard, most folks including my grandfather, took what seemed to be a hefty amount of ready cash and a set guaranteed annual fee rather than a speculative percentage royalty. In the beginning it was a good deal. Some folks, like my folks, did have wells and pumps right in the door yards, but they were being paid. Then oil prices rose, more pumps appeared in crop land and pastures, diminishing the already lowering agriculture return, running day and night, they sucked the fields dry and the oil bidness boomed. but the fees didn't increase. Eventually the farm passed to my uncle; no one else wanted to live with no running water, electricity, and an outhouse anymore; he struggled for a while, then sold out. went to work for the enemy as a well inspector, and moved to town where he bought a relativly large lot by city standards. He took some ribbing, was asked did he own the mineral rights, he sed, " I own this place all the way to hell and halfway back again. If the Devil wants to spit, he's gotta pay me royalties. It'll be easier to collect from him than from the oil company." No one really blamed him, even if there were more jokes, for securing the rights, but no one expected it to matter on his town lot. Over the years,as the area grew, his kids sold bits of the land, mostly to pay property taxes. They are now having the last laugh. Their little lot sits smack dab on top of the Barnett Shale Gas Fields. They are being real careful with the royalty contracts. So while there may not be 'gold in them thar hills,' their is gas in the backyard.

In many places, for instance Western Pennsylvania, mineral rights are explicitly excluded. The whole region has been extensively mined already, and may again be in the future. Basically the mining companies were there first.

If they own the mineral rights, then yes.