Mining law covers several basic topics, including the ownership of the mineral resource and who can work them.
This is often dependent on the type of mineral in question, the mining history of the jurisdiction, as well as the general background legal tradition and its treatment of property.
For instance, in many jurisdictions, rights to mine gold and silver are retained by the sovereign, as the two metals traditionally served as currency in many a given society.
From at least the 12th century, German kings claimed mining rights to silver and other metals, taking precedence over the local lords.
A new, far-reaching, legal basis was created with the General Mining Act for the Prussian States of 1865 (Allgemeines Berggesetz für die Preußischen Staaten von 1865), which, with local variations, was adopted in Brunswick (1867), Bavaria (1869), Württemberg (1874), Baden (1890) and other countries.