Tom - it can be a complex issue but the Q is key here so I'm glad it was a good one.
Although rights can be registered they rarely change on death of a beneficiary for example. However you maybe referring to a specific registered title and if so that's the detail you should be looking for IF we need to be involved
Registration of mines and minerals (PG65) - GOV.UK
So you are probably looking for two things. 1. How did he acquire the mineral rights and what that paperwork tells you and 2. Were they registerable and therefore registered and the answer in that may rely on where they actually are geographically