Cortez Mine is a large gold mining site. The mine comprises the Pipeline, Crossroads, and Cortez Hills open pit mines; the Cortez Hills underground mine.  Cortez Mine is located in 100 kilometers southwest of Elko, Nevada. It is in the Crescent Valley which is between the Shoshone and Cortez Mountains. The Crescent Valley is a basin in the traditional Basin and Range setting of Nevada. Mineralization was achieved during Jurassic-Miocene periods. Lithology includes silty limestone in Silurian Roberts Mountain Formation; above this is Devonian Wenban Formation (Limestone). The Wenban Formation is the host rock of Cortez Hills deposit. The Devonian limestone is overlaid by Quaternary alluvium. Water is a precious commodity in Northern Nevada. At the mine site, groundwater is pumped from aquifers, which is required to make proper open pit and underground working conditions. The pumped water is reintroduced into the groundwater system via agricultural irrigation and rapid infiltration basins.