Montana Code Annotated
Part 1. General Provisions
1-4-112. Fossils distinguished

1-4-112. Fossils distinguished. (1) When used in any instrument, unless the clear and express terms of the instrument provide otherwise, the term "minerals" does not include fossils.
(2) For purposes of this section:
(a) "Fossilized" means preserved by natural processes, including but not limited to:
(i) burial in accumulated sediment;
(ii) preservation in ice or amber; or
(iii) replacement by minerals or alteration by chemical processes such as permineralization in which minerals are deposited in the pore spaces of the hard parts of an organism's remains, which may or may not alter the original organic content.
(b) "Fossils" means any fossilized remains, traces, or imprints of organisms, preserved in or on the earth's crust.
(3) Fossils are considered part of the surface estate, subject to severance by the fee title owner of the land pursuant to a clear and express grant.
(4) Fossils are not subject to the provisions of Title 82.
History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 136, L. 2019.

Structure Montana Code Annotated