Title 45.2. Mines, Minerals, and Energy
Chapter 6. Coal Mining Property, Interests, Adjacent Owners, and Dams
§ 45.2-602. Petition to establish a trust for missing coal owners.
A. Any coal owner or lessee who (i) has more than a 50 percent interest in the coal on a particular tract and (ii) seeks to impress a trust upon unknown or missing owners of such tract of coal may petition the circuit court in the county or city containing the majority of the tract of coal to establish a trust to protect the interests of all coal owners and lessees.
B. The petition shall:
1. Describe the particular tract of coal at issue;
2. List all known, missing, and unknown owners of interests in such tract of coal and set forth the efforts to locate and identify the missing or unknown owners of the interests and provide any other information known to the petitioner that could be helpful in identifying or locating every present owner thereof; and
3. Include the proposed terms of a lease to be offered to the trust. Such lease shall be typical of other arm's-length leases in the area.
C. The petitioner shall establish to the satisfaction of the court that a diligent effort has been made to identify and locate the present owners of such interests.