Ouray County governments have received an unexpected windfall in their annual severance tax distributions from the state, with almost $700,000 coming from mineral extraction and production revenue.

When Ouray Silver Mines was making plans to resume production at the Revenue-Virginius Mine, the company touted the severance tax that local communities could receive – if they could find a way to house their employees locally. But after a hiring spree of 200 employees, they shut down the mine due to...