BOOK REVIEW: The Mineral Estate Surveyors Handbook

This publication really is a (large) handbook; it is presented in a lever-arch file which hints that there may be plans to update. It is not the sort of publication you could easily take on site, but that is not the aim. The authors, all chartered surveyors with minerals and waste backgrounds, say that the handbook is for those new to the industries – students and more experienced practitioners who should use it as work of first reference.

From a legal perspective, there are a number of pure valuation sections which are not necessarily of interest, although the chapter on the valuations for compulsory purchase is extremely helpful. It is clearly aimed at minerals and waste, but the basic principles set out apply to all compulsory purchase cases and this is a useful aide-mémoire.

The rules for assessing compensation, a closed book to many legal practitioners, are helpfully set out with reference to important cases. For those who have negotiated mineral compulsory purchase cases in the past, it’s a walk down memory lane, with references to the perennially difficult cases of Bwllfa and Pointe Gorde. There are also useful worked examples and this is a very useful place to start for those new to CPOs. 

Of more obvious relevance to lawyers, the introduction provides useful descriptions of aspects of mineral working and waste management. The way that quarries and mines are worked is set out – useful for those not lucky enough to have come to the subject through the industry or a client with the time and patience to educate a legal recruit on the way the industry works.

There is a useful chapter on the ownership of minerals which is helpful to those drafting documents. There is reference to various definitions which often crop up when dealing with, for example, mineral leases.

There are chapters on minerals working and support, with special a particular reference to coal. There is a chapter on mineral working and the water environment. This is quite a tricky area given the way that successive environmental legislation has tended to treat waste water from mines.

Another chapter deals with planning and environmental regulation of mineral work and waste management. Although it is general, it does give an excellent outline of the legislation covering the area with reference to some of the leading cases. There is also a useful summary of the impact of the National Planning Policy Framework and references are made to the position in Wales and Scotland. 

If you do not know the difference between different types of waste and how they are regulated, a chapter deals with the legal, administrative and valuation aspects of waste management properties. It contains a useful list of most relevant UK and European legislation, technical guidance notes and Environment Agency guidance, but this is likely to require regular updates.

The impact of European legislation on minerals and waste law in the UK is covered in a separate chapter, and there is a short chapter on legal liability relating to minerals and waste working. This is interesting. As well as third-party claims, statutory responsibility is also covered, including health and safety issues. Again, the chapter is not detailed, but gives a good overview of the issues. 

Of particular interest to lawyers are the appendices. These are nuggets of hard-to-find information, including a description of how companies should report mineral reserves, suggested heads of terms for minerals and waste agreements, a property inspection form for minerals and waste sites, an essay on the more common minerals mined in the UK and a description of how roadstone is specified and tested. 

This is an easy-to-use and invaluable resource for those who want an overview of the minerals and waste sectors, to understand how they operate and how the regulatory regime works. Apart from the valuation aspects, which are likely to be of more interest to surveyors, those from a legal background will find much to assist in an understanding of how the sectors work. 

This is recommended reading for those about to embark on new instructions for minerals or waste operators. A good dip-into book of those who are more experienced. 

Rebecca Carriage is a consultant solicitor at Howes Percival, Norwich