The ''Case of Mines'' or ''R v Earl of Northumberland'' was decided in 1568. Rather than the usual four judges, a full panel of twelve common law senior judges, on appeal, decided "that by the law all mines of gold and silver within the realm, whether they be in the lands of the Queen, or of subjects, belong to the Queen by prerogative, with liberty to dig and carry away the ores thereof, and with other such incidents thereto as are necessary to be used for the getting of the ore." The decision was in the

law of England and Wales English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. The judiciary is independent, and legal principles like fairness, equality be ...

and was later confirmed by courts to be applicable in the monarch's other realms and dominions. The

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

payable by custom to the UK government have been passed by British

statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

to the former dominions early in their recognition as dominions.

Facts

The Earl of Northumberland in 1568 was

Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, 1st Baron Percy, KG (152822 August 1572) was an English nobleman, politician and Roman Catholic rebel leader, who led the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I in 1569. After the failure of the risin ...

. The queen was

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

. Some copper miners in Keswick found an admixture of gold in copper mined from lands belonging to the Earl of Northumberland. Due to concerns about revenue and the possibility of a renewed war with Spain, the Queen’s advisers were anxious to claim prerogative rights to the gold. A suit was brought in the Court of Exchequer Chamber and judgment was for the Queen founding

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

’s right to mine gold or silver. The challenge by the Earl of Northumberland was on the ground that the work was within the Royalties granted to his family in a former reign.

Judgment

Twelve judges decided in favour of the queen, The neglect of the earl and his predecessors to work the minerals during seventy years 'had made that questionable which for ages was out of question', and the prerogative was revoked. This illustrates that in theory all gold and silver belongs to the queen, and that most authorities to extract minerals granted have a "use it, or lose it" component.

Significance

On 28 May 1568 two mining monopolies were created, the

Company of Mineral and Battery Works The Company of Mineral and Battery Works was, with the Society of Mines Royal, Society of the Mines Royal, one of two mining monopolies created by Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth I. The company's rights were based on a patent granted to William ...

and the

Society of Mines Royal The Society of the Mines Royal was one of two English mining monopoly companies incorporated by royal charter in 1568, the other being the Company of Mineral and Battery Works. History On 28 May 1568, Elizabeth I established the society by l ...

. The effects of the decision were limited by the

Royal Mines Act 1688 The Royal Mines Act 1688 ( 1 Will. & Mar. c. 30), sometimes referred to as the Mines Royal Act 1688, is an act of the Parliament of England. This act was partly in force in Great Britain at the end of 2010.The Chronological Table of the Statu ...

( 1 Will. & Mar. c. 30), which removed the monopoly of these two companies.

Reporting of the case

One report featured in the later

English Reports The English Reports is a collection of judgments of the higher English courts between 1220 and 1866. Overview The reports are a selection of most nominate reports of judgments of the higher English courts between 1220 and 1873. Glanville Willia ...

series. Plowden's extensive report was published some years after the judgment.

Subsequent cases

The case has remained the leading case in

New Zealand law The law of New Zealand uses the English common law system, inherited from being a part of the British Empire. There are several sources of law, the primary ones being acts enacted by the New Zealand Parliament and case law made by decisions o ...

on the royal prerogative to the royal metals of gold and silver; by statute all related royalties flow to the government of New Zealand. The case was also the authority on which the controversial Miner's Licences in Australia were introduced at the time of the

Australian gold rushes During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in History of Australia, Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the Colo ...

Notes