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Millions at stake in dinosaur issue: Are fossils minerals?

Millions at stake in dinosaur issue: Are fossils minerals? | iNFOnews.ca
FILE - In this April 16, 2019, file photo, Luke Phipps, 12, presents Montana Gov. Steve Bullock with a fossilized rib and tail vertebrae from a triceratops at the state Capitol in Helena, Mont., after the governor signed a bill to clarify that fossils are part of a property's surface rights, not its mineral rights, unless a contract separating the ownership says otherwise. The Montana Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019, on the same issue in relation to a 2014 court case over the ownership of millions of dollars of dinosaur fossils that is not affected by the new law. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)

HELENA, Mont. – The discovery of two fossilized dinosaur skeletons intertwined in what looks like a final death match could make a central Montana ranching couple rich beyond their wildest dreams. Or, they may have to share the wealth.

It all comes down to how the state Supreme Court answers a seemingly simple question: Are fossils minerals?

The outcome is key to a federal case over ownership of the “dueling dinosaurs,” worth more than $5 million, and distribution of millions of dollars in proceeds from the sale of other fossils unearthed on the property.

A federal appeals court asked the justices whether fossil finds in Montana are part of the surface estate or the mineral rights. The ranch has split ownership.

The state justices heard arguments Thursday but did not make a ruling.

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