§ 26-26-1110 - Mineral rights.
26-26-1110. Mineral rights.
(a) (1) When the mineral rights in any land shall, by conveyance or otherwise, be held by one (1) or more persons, and the fee simple in the land by one (1) or more other persons, it shall be the duty of the county assessor when advised of the fact, either by personal notice or by recording of the deeds in the office of the county recorder, to assess the mineral rights in the lands separate from the general property therein.
(2) In such case a sale of the mineral rights for nonpayment of taxes shall not affect the title to the land itself, nor shall a sale of the land for nonpayment of taxes affect the title to the mineral rights.
(b) When any mineral rights assessed as set out in subsection (a) of this section become forfeited on account of nonpayment of taxes, they shall, in all things, be certified to and redeemed in the same manner as is provided for the certification and redemption of real estate upon which taxes duly assessed have not been paid.
(c) (1) Because of the difficulty of ascertaining the value of a nonproducing mineral right and in order to ensure equal and uniform taxation throughout the state, a nonproducing mineral right has zero (0) value for the purpose of property tax assessment and is included in the value of the fee simple interest assessed.
(2) If the fee simple in the land and the nonproducing mineral right that has zero (0) value as determined under subdivision (c)(1) of this section are owned by different persons, there is no property tax due on the mineral right.
(3) For a nonproducing mineral right that has zero (0) value as determined under subdivision (c)(1) of this section, the mineral right owner may agree to a voluntary property tax assessment of the mineral right and pay a property tax according to rules established by the Assessment Coordination Department with the assistance of the Arkansas Assessors Association.
(4) When a nonproducing mineral right begins producing minerals, the mineral right shall be assessed for tax purposes in accordance with rules established by the department.