Stop typing rows by hand. MineralScout builds a full run sheet for any mineral parcel (grantor, grantee, document type, fractional interest, recording data) directly from county records.
A run sheet is the working artifact at the center of every mineral acquisition. It is a chronological, row-by-row summary of every recorded document that affects title to a specific parcel of mineral rights. When a landman sits down in a county clerk's office, the run sheet is what they are building: a paper trail from the original sovereign grant (typically a United States land patent) all the way to the current owner of record.
Each row captures a single conveyance event: recording date, document type, grantor, grantee, fractional interest, and a reference to the recorded instrument. Some run sheets also track consideration, legal descriptions, and examiner notes.
The run sheet feeds two audiences. Title attorneys use it to render opinions on marketable title. Acquisition teams use it to determine how much interest is available, whether there are competing claims, and whether gaps like missing probates need to be resolved before closing.
Mineral run sheets are far more complex than their surface-estate counterparts. Mineral interests can be severed from the surface, subdivided into fractions, and passed through multiple generations of heirs without a single surface-level transaction to signal the change. That complexity is why automation has such a large impact.
A field landman travels to the county clerk's office and manually searches the grantor-grantee index, typically starting with the current owner and working backward, or starting with the patent and working forward. Every relevant document is pulled, photographed or copied, and transcribed into a spreadsheet or run sheet template.
For a single parcel, this process can take one to three days depending on the complexity of the title history. A full section (640 acres) with multiple mineral owners and decades of conveyances can take weeks. Errors compound: a missed deed early in the chain can invalidate everything downstream, and there is no automated check to catch it.
MineralScout starts with a complete, structured copy of the county's grantor-grantee index. Not a sample or a subset, but every recorded document. Our AI extracts grantor, grantee, document type, legal description, fractional interest, and recording metadata from each instrument.
From there, a breadth-first search algorithm walks the index forward from the patent (or backward from a known owner) and assembles every relevant conveyance into a chronological chain. The system resolves name variations (e.g., "William C. Hartley" vs. "W.C. Hartley"), computes cumulative fractional interests, and flags gaps (such as a deceased owner with no recorded probate) for human review.
The result is a complete run sheet, generated in minutes, that covers the same ground a landman would cover in days. You review it, resolve any flagged items, and export it in the format your workflow requires.
MineralScout run sheets match the format landmen and title attorneys already expect. Each row represents a single recorded instrument, and every column is populated directly from the county record.
| Recording Date | Doc Type | Grantor | Grantee | Interest | Reception |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968-06-22 | Patent | United States | William C. Hartley | 100% | B089 P112 |
| 1993-04-11 | Mineral Deed | William C. Hartley | Hartley Family Trust | 1/2 | 2984301 |
| 2016-08-17 | Probate | W.C. Hartley Estate | Hartley Family Trust | 1/2 | 4401298 |
| 2023-10-05 | Mineral Deed | Hartley Family Trust | Karen Hartley (heir) | 1/4 | 4987652 |
Illustrative example. Actual run sheets include every document affecting the parcel, from original patent to the current owner.
An automated run sheet is only as good as the data behind it. If your data starts in 1980, your run sheet starts in 1980. For Colorado mineral rights, where many parcels were patented in the late 1800s, that gap can hide a century of conveyance history.
MineralScout's Colorado coverage goes back to the original patent. Every recorded document is in our database, built and maintained in-house. We control the completeness, the update frequency, and the data quality.
In practice, this means run sheets start at the patent. There is no gap at the front of the chain and no need to supplement with manual courthouse research for older records.
Every run sheet is only as reliable as the data extraction behind it. MineralScout's extraction pipeline processes the full text of each recorded instrument, not just the index entry. That means it captures fractional interest language buried in the body of a deed, legal description variations, reservations, exceptions, and subject-to clauses.
The system also performs entity resolution across the entire corpus. When "William C. Hartley," "W.C. Hartley," and "Bill Hartley" appear in different documents affecting the same legal description, the AI recognizes these as the same party and links them in the chain. This prevents the false breaks that plague keyword-based search systems.
For a deeper explanation of how run sheets fit into the title research workflow, see our guide: What is a Run Sheet?
Different teams use run sheets in different ways. A brokerage may need a formatted PDF for attorney review. A data-driven shop may want raw CSV for their own models. An engineering team may want API access for programmatic integration. MineralScout supports all three.
Flat export with every column, ready for spreadsheet-driven teams. Sort, filter, and pivot as needed.
Attorney-ready formatted PDF with all document references, suitable for inclusion in a title opinion package.
Pull run sheets programmatically into your own systems. Build custom workflows on top of structured run sheet data.
The mechanical work is automated. The judgment calls stay with the landman.
Start from a named mineral owner, a PLSS section, or a parcel ID. The system accepts any entry point.
AI searches the complete grantor-grantee index and pulls every conveyance affecting the parcel from patent to present.
Documents are sorted chronologically, fractional interests are computed, and gaps are flagged for review.
Download the finished run sheet as CSV, PDF, or via API. Push leads into your acquisition workflow.
Common questions about AI-powered run sheet generation for oil and gas mineral rights.
A run sheet is a chronological summary of every recorded document affecting title to a mineral parcel: recording date, document type, grantor, grantee, fractional interest, and reception number. Landmen compile them so attorneys can issue title opinions and acquisition teams can price offers.
MineralScout ingests the complete grantor-grantee index for each covered county, extracts structured data from every recorded document, and uses a breadth-first search to assemble conveyances into a chronological run sheet. The AI resolves name variations, computes fractional interests, and flags gaps like missing probates.
MineralScout covers counties across Colorado with patent-to-present depth. See our coverage page for current details.
CSV or Excel for spreadsheet workflows, formatted PDF for attorney review, and a programmatic API for integration into your own systems.
Yes. The output includes the same fields a landman would compile by hand: recording dates, document types, grantors, grantees, fractional interests, and reception numbers. We recommend reviewing any flagged gaps before submitting to counsel.
Most run sheets finish in minutes. A straightforward chain may take under a minute; a parcel with extensive probate history and fractional splits may take several minutes.
A chain of title is the conceptual sequence of ownership transfers from the sovereign to the current owner. A run sheet is the document that records that chain. MineralScout generates both.
Stop spending days at the courthouse. MineralScout builds patent-to-present run sheets in minutes, with gaps flagged for your review.