I’m afraid that like the ruling that declared tomatoes to be vegetables, you have to look to the intent of the law. Yes, the dinosaur bones are COMPOSED of minerals, but no, their value is not the value of the MINERALS, but of their form.
brings up the question, could someone quarry all of the surface mass from your property down say 50 feet and leave you with nothing but a deep hole in the ground?
“people wanted your limestone, dirt, etc...”
“Yes, the dinosaur bones are COMPOSED of minerals, but no, their value is not the value of the MINERALS, but of their form.”
Oh. Like diamonds.