What Is Your Rock Worth?
A free quarry-lease royalty estimator for landowners. Enter your acreage and rock type. See tons, royalty per ton, annual payments, and what a lease is worth today.
Landowners call us with the same question: a company wants to lease my land for a quarry — is the offer fair? This screen gives you an order-of-magnitude answer in two minutes. It uses public price data and the ratios real lease negotiations turn on. It is not an appraisal, but it tells you whether the number on the table is in the right zip code.
Quarry lease royalty estimator
Change any field. The result updates as you type.
How the estimate works
01Tons in the ground
Acres × 43,560 ft² × thickness × in-place density. We assume only 60% of the parcel can be mined after setbacks, buffers, and haul roads, and that 85% of that rock is recovered as saleable product.
02Price at the plant
The default is the USGS 2025 national average value for crushed stone, about $18.50 per metric ton, converted to about $16.80 per short ton. Sand and gravel usually sells for less, and hard rock for more. Proximity to a metro market moves the price more than anything else.
03Royalty rate
Aggregate royalties are usually written as a percentage of the sales price (often 5% to 10%) or as a fixed cents-per-ton rate with an escalator. The estimator shows both ends of the range.
04Life and present value
Reserve life is tons ÷ sales rate. The present value discounts the royalty stream at 8% per year, which is roughly how an operator thinks about what a lease is worth today.
What moves a royalty offer
| Factor | Pushes the royalty up | Pushes it down |
|---|---|---|
| Market | Growing metro within 25 miles, few competing quarries | Rural, saturated market, long truck haul |
| Rock quality | Passes DOT specs, low ASR risk, low clay and chert | Soft, absorptive, or reactive rock |
| Overburden | Thin soil cover over thick rock | Deep overburden or thin, interbedded rock |
| Permitting | Existing industrial zoning, no wetlands, supportive county | Rezoning needed, neighbors close, wetlands or karst |
| Lease terms | Minimum annual royalty, price escalator, audit rights | Flat cents-per-ton with no escalator for 30+ years |
Want a real answer for your parcel?
Send us the parcel. We return a free 1-page site screen: geology, market haul-shed, zoning, permit path, and red flags.
Screening estimate only. It uses national averages and simple ratios. Real value depends on drilling, rock testing, the local market, permit risk, and lease terms. This is not an appraisal or legal advice.