AnarkittenSurprise t1_jd3dj3h wrote on March 21, 2023 at 3:31 PM

Reply to comment by USAIsAUcountry in TIL of Trix, a t-rex skeleton that is considered one of the most complete skeletons ever found. It was found only in 2013 on a farmers land in Montana, US. It was bought from the farmer for almost $5mil and is now on permanent display in The Netherlands. by lucamila5

Fossils are objectively minerals though. This wasn't an unreasonable lawsuit at all.

USAIsAUcountry t1_jd3lmzr wrote on March 21, 2023 at 4:23 PM

They are, but they have also once been a living creature and are still retaining the structure of the living form. It's not what is ordinarily considered a mineral in this context and they are not valued according to their mineral contents or being sold for their mineral contents which is what the mineral rights are meant to protect.

I have since that comment changed my opinion that they were wrong in pursuing this as relentlessly as they did. So I agree that it wasn't unreasonable. It's just not as straight forward as considering it just a mineral. It's a unique grey area.