Mineral Owners Advocating for Mineral Owners.
We're mineral owners and investors who've spent years navigating operators, attorneys, and complex legal documents. We built the United Mineral Network to give every American family free access to the same resources, education, and strategies that professional investors use to protect their assets.
Why We Built This
When we started investing in mineral rights, we quickly realized that the system is built for operators, not owners. We had the resources to hire petroleum engineers, retain oil and gas attorneys, and build relationships with land departments. But the average family inheriting mineral rights? They get a cryptic check stub, a confusing division order, and no one to call.
We watched families lose thousands to hidden post-production deductions they didn't know they could challenge. We saw heirs sign away generational wealth because a landman showed up with a lowball offer and a sense of urgency. We met widows with royalties frozen in suspense accounts for years because nobody explained how to file an heirship affidavit.
So we built what we wished existed when we started. The United Mineral Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that gives every mineral owner — regardless of acreage, net worth, or experience — free access to investor-grade education, legal and curative guidance, asset management tools, and a community of owners facing the same challenges.
Our board members are mineral owners themselves. This isn't a conflict of interest — it's an aligned interest. We're fighting for people like ourselves, and our firsthand experience is exactly what makes our educational content authentic and actionable.
What Professional Investors Have — Now Free for You
Here's the reality: professional mineral investors have teams. Everyday families have Google. We're changing that.
What investors pay for: Petroleum engineers to audit royalty statements
UMN Free: Free royalty auditing guides with line-by-line check stub walkthrough
What investors pay for: Oil and gas attorneys for lease review
UMN Free: Free lease review checklists — royalty clauses, Pugh clauses, surface use, shut-in provisions
What investors pay for: Land departments tracking permits and drilling activity
UMN Free: Free automated property activity reports using federal BLM data
What investors pay for: Curative title attorneys for probate and heirship
UMN Free: Free step-by-step curative guides — heirship affidavits, quiet title, suspended interest resolution
What investors pay for: Industry networks and intelligence sharing
UMN Free: Free county-level community forums connecting owners facing the same operators
What investors pay for: Regulatory expertise across multiple states
UMN Free: Free state-by-state legal guides — forced pooling, dormant mineral acts, spacing orders
Our Programs
Everything below is free for every mineral owner in the United States. Sustaining members receive enhanced access to monitoring tools and expert consultations.
Investor-Grade Education Hub
Comprehensive, plain-language guides on everything a mineral owner needs to know: ownership types, lease evaluation, post-production cost deductions, royalty auditing, forced pooling defense, probate and inheritance, PLSS legal descriptions, division order review, and state-specific legal requirements. Written by mineral owners who've navigated these issues with their own assets.
Legal & Curative Research Center
Step-by-step educational guides for the curative and legal challenges that paralyze families: clearing title defects, filing heirship affidavits, resolving suspended royalties, understanding quiet title actions, responding to pooling orders, and navigating probate. We help you understand what operators are asking for, what documents you need, and when you truly need an attorney.
Community Forums by County
County-level discussion forums connecting you with neighboring mineral owners dealing with the same operators, the same state laws, and the same geological formations. Share strategies, find local attorneys, get peer advice on lease offers, and access AI-assisted answers trained on state regulatory rules and case law. Forums are AI-moderated to block predatory solicitation.
Property Activity Reports & Permit Alerts
Automated geospatial reports showing nearby drilling permits, active wells, and operator activity for any property in the United States. Reports pull from the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pathfinder API and state regulatory databases — the same data sources professional investors use. Sustaining members receive automated email alerts for new permits and pooling deadlines.
Our Values
Built by Owners, for Owners
Our board members are mineral owners and investors with firsthand experience. Every guide, tool, and resource is informed by real-world challenges we've faced managing our own mineral assets.
Independence & Integrity
We accept no funding from oil and gas operators, landmen, or industry trade groups. Our loyalty is exclusively to the mineral owner. Full stop.
Education Over Everything
An informed owner is a protected owner. We provide comprehensive, jargon-free educational resources covering every aspect of mineral ownership — always free of charge.
Radical Transparency
We publish our financials, governance structure, conflict of interest policies, and program outcomes. Our tools use public federal data — never proprietary or paywalled sources.
Owner Advocacy
We advocate for policy changes that protect mineral owners — transparency in post-production deductions, longer response windows for forced pooling, and clearer disclosure requirements for operators.
Accessibility for All
Our platform follows WCAG 2.1 accessibility guidelines with large fonts, high contrast, and semantic HTML — designed for the older adults who make up the majority of mineral owners.
Governance & Leadership
United Mineral Network is governed by a Board of Directors composed of mineral owners and investors with direct experience in the challenges our community faces. This isn't a coincidence — it's by design. Our board members' lived experience as mineral owners is exactly what makes this organization effective. They understand operator tactics, confusing legal documents, and suspended interests because they've dealt with them personally.
The board meets quarterly and is responsible for ensuring the organization fulfills its charitable mission, maintains financial integrity, and serves the broader community of mineral owners — not any individual member's personal holdings.
Board of Directors
Mineral owner and investor with experience in mineral acquisitions, operator relations, and curative title work. Built the UMN to give everyday families the same resources he uses to manage his own mineral portfolio.
Seeking a mineral owner or NARO member with experience navigating operator disputes, forced pooling, or royalty auditing to shape our educational programs.
Seeking a CPA or nonprofit finance professional to oversee budgeting, IRS compliance, and financial reporting.
Seeking a mineral rights attorney or title professional to guide our curative research content — heirship, probate, suspended interests, and division order disputes.
Aligned Interest Policy
Our board members are mineral owners themselves. This lived experience informs our advocacy and makes our educational content authentic and practical. Like patient advocates on hospital boards or consumer rights lawyers in regulatory roles, our board members' personal stake in mineral ownership means they are personally invested in getting it right for the community we serve.
To ensure board decisions serve the broader community of mineral owners — not any individual member's personal holdings — we maintain a formal Conflict of Interest Policy that requires:
- Annual disclosure of all personal mineral interests, business relationships, and affiliations
- Mandatory recusal from any vote that could directly benefit a board member's personal holdings
- Documented board minutes recording all disclosures and recusals
- Annual signed acknowledgment of the policy by every board member and officer
The full Conflict of Interest Policy is available upon request. Contact info@unitedmineralnetwork.org.
Governance Practices
- Board composed of mineral owners with direct experience in the challenges we address
- Formal Conflict of Interest Policy with annual disclosure and recusal requirements
- Quarterly board meetings with documented minutes
- Annual financial review and public reporting
- No funding accepted from oil and gas operators or industry trade groups
- Whistleblower protection policy
- Document retention and destruction policy
- Compensation review process (currently all-volunteer leadership)
Financial Transparency
501(c)(3) Status
- IRS-registered 501(c)(3) public charity
- EIN available upon request
- Donations are tax-deductible under IRC Section 170
- Incorporated in the State of Colorado
How Funds Are Used
IRS Filings & Public Documents
As a 501(c)(3) public charity, United Mineral Network files annual information returns with the IRS. Our governing documents and financial records are available upon request.
- IRS Determination Letter — Available upon request
- Articles of Incorporation — State of Colorado
- Bylaws — Governing the board and organizational operations
- Form 990-N (e-Postcard) — Filed annually with the IRS
- Conflict of Interest Policy — Board-approved, with annual disclosures
- Aligned Interest Statement — How board mineral ownership serves the mission
To request copies of any public documents, please contact us at info@unitedmineralnetwork.org.
Editorial Standards
All educational content published by United Mineral Network is developed from our board members' firsthand experience and adheres to the following standards:
- Content is informed by real-world mineral ownership experience and reviewed for accuracy
- All claims cite authoritative sources (IRS, BLM, EIA, state regulatory commissions)
- Technical jargon is defined in plain language with inline tooltips
- Content is written at an accessible reading level for general audiences
- State-specific legal information identifies the relevant jurisdiction
- Content includes disclaimers that it does not constitute legal or financial advice
- AI-generated content in forums is clearly labeled as AI-generated
- Guides are updated as laws, regulations, and operator practices change
Contact Us
General Inquiries
Mailing Address
United Mineral Network, Inc.A 501(c)(3) Public Charity
Colorado, United States
Full mailing address available upon request for document submissions.