Miss. Code § 27-31-73
To encourage the purchase of leases upon and interests in oil, gas and other minerals in the State of Mississippi, to encourage drilling for and production of such minerals, and to relieve the taxing officials of the counties of the state of the onerous duties of assessment for, collection of and sale for ad valorem taxes for such interests (which the Legislature finds are generally assessed at nominal values resulting in taxes not commensurate with the services required of such officers), all nonproducing leasehold interests upon all oil, gas and other minerals in, on or under lands lying within the State of Mississippi, created or assigned after the effective date of Sections 27-31-71 through 27-31-87, and also all nonproducing interests in such oil, gas and other minerals (including royalty interests therein) hereafter conveyed to a grantee or purchaser or excepted or reserved to a grantor separately and apart from the surface, shall be exempt from all ad valorem taxes levied on or after January 1, 1947, by the State of Mississippi, or any county, municipality, levee district, road district, school district, drainage district or other taxing district within the state or becoming a lien on or after said date. Any sale for taxes of the surface or of the remainder of the fee shall not in any manner whatsoever affect the interest or interests hereby exempted.
For the same purpose and with like effect there is hereby likewise exempted from such ad valorem taxation all such interests created prior to the passage of Sections 27-31-71 through 27-31-87 which are owned separately and apart from the surface, provided that as a condition precedent to obtaining such exemption upon existing interests the then owner thereof shall make application for exemption of the interest then owned by him as hereinafter provided and pay, in the manner provided under this chapter, a sum equivalent to the tax herein levied by Section 27-31-77 on instruments hereafter executed creating, transferring or reserving corresponding or similar interests. If any such sum is paid after January 1, 1947, then such exemption shall apply only to taxes becoming a lien after such sum is thus paid.
Miss. Code § 27-31-73