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1. General Area Discussion <br /> The area where the Revenue Mine is located is known by several names, including Sneffels Creek, <br /> Porter's (for the old town site), the Revenue Group of the Sneffels mining district, and Six Basins for <br /> the Six Basins that comprise the north facing drainage area to Sneffels, Imogene and Canyon Creeks. <br /> The Six Basins, from west to east, are Yankee Boy, Governor, Sidney, Silver, Pierson, and Richmond. <br /> The south facing drainages tend to be steeper and less "basin-like". Topographic high points include <br /> Mt. Sneffels, Cirque Mountain, Teakettle Mountain, and Potosi Peak. The Stony Mountain intrusion <br /> stands in the middle of the area. The broader general area is located on the northwestern edge of the <br /> San Juan Mountains, outside the Silverton Caldera complex. Volcanic activity associated with the <br /> calderas have resulted in fractures that were subsequently filled with quartz and metal rich as <br /> hydrothermal fluids moved through the San Juan Tuff. <br /> Major waterways in the area include Sneffels Creek and Imogene Creek, which confluence to create <br /> Canyon Creek. Canyon Creek joins the Uncompahgre River at the southern edge of the City of Ouray. <br /> The elevation drops from 10,600' at the Revenue Mine to 7,800' in Ouray, CO over a course of five <br /> and a half miles. Sneffels Creek is fed by snowmelt runoff and fracture dominated interflow/ <br /> groundwater and summer rainfall that is heavily influenced by monsoons. <br /> Due to elevation, the area around the Revenue Mine is under snow from early October to early June in <br /> many years (Climate information is presented in Exhibit K). The upper portions of the mine are the <br /> Refuge and Hoist in Governor Basin, at approximately 12,300' elevation, which is above timberline. <br /> Water quality in Sneffels Creek is affected by the presence of historical mining sites, naturally <br /> occurring mineralization and heavy tourist traffic. Ouray Silver Mines has spearheaded multi- <br /> stakeholder efforts (including Trout Unlimited, the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership, United <br /> States Forest Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency)to reduce water quality impacts from <br /> historic mining from the Atlas Mill (completed 2020) and from the Terrible and Virginius in Governor <br /> Basin (anticipated completion in 2022). <br /> revenue Mine December 2021 G-2 <br />