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COSTILLA COUNTY FREE PRESS San Luis, CO (Costitle County) Fri, 223 TY DRILL HELD AT BMG MINE San Luis, CO -Battle Mountain Gold and San Luis Valley emergency teams held theirfirstlarge-scale safety drill at the company's open pit mine, six miles northeast of Colorado's oldest town Saturday. While those involved in the training generally viewed it as successful, San Luis residents were not immediately informed of the exercise end many thought a catastrophe had actually occurred at the mine site. Twelve Battle Mountain employees and between 25 and 30 Valley "first response" personnel participated in the weekend drill, simulating a sulfur dioxide leak during transfer from a tanker truck to holding vessels in the mill facility. But of that number, only five administrators knew that an actual leak had not occurred. Sulfur dioxide is used as part of the gold mine's cyanide treatment process. While not nearly as toxic as cyanide, high concentrations of the strong- smelling gas can be fatal. Residents became concerned when shortly after 8:25 a.m„ ambulance, Cola. State Patrol and_Costilla County iii iiiiiiiiiiiu iii 999 K _ ~~ ~.,t,17- SAFETY DRILL HELD ~'~~Y3 AT SMG MINE Continued Irom page t. Sherif l's Department squad cars began speeding up the mine access tied north of town According to Battle Mountain Gold Operation's Manager Hen Klukstlz hl, word also got out because people throughou the southern half of the Valley 'picked it t p on police scanners.' 'I'm not apologizing for hasping it e surprise,' Kluksdehl seed. 'N e've had a number of smaller drills but this was the first large-scale drill on this prober y.' Asked why Battle Mountain had not staged a similar exercise in the `our yews since work began at the site, Kluksdehl replied that'now, the company, fell (here was the opportunity and the time to do it ' Bul soma in the San Luis con munity were not amused and thought more ~:onsideration should have been given to the rasidonts who natu ral'y assumed the worst. 'I have no problem with reedin tss training,' Bald Marie Valdez, resident of San Luis. Valdez stated that much of the hysteria eausod by the drill could have been avoided. 'A lot of people have relatives who work up there. Nol ever has anyone from Battle Mcuntain Gold informed the people in our community whet to do in case of this kind of emergency and people didn't cnow who to contact,' Valdez said. 'They could have had an answering machine with a prerecorded message set up on the company phone line ' Complicating matters was a loE istical snalu. By the time mine employees responsible for answering company phones reac led the mme, emergency teams already had th x site locked town' with no one allowed in oil out unl~l the nature of Iha 'disaster' could bs assessed. Concerned callers received tit explanation from the Battle Mourtain ef!ice Kluksdehl sold he had to drive back into San Luis where community leaders could be contacted and informed of the '~est By 9:10 a.m., 'the mayor, county comm ssioners and eleven members of the Battle Mountain Citizens Adnsory Council had been natiliad,' said Kluksdehl. Besides police end medical pc rsonnol, both State Patrol end San Luis Valley hazardous material disposal teams were di•.patched Irom Alamosa. SLV HazMal team leader Johr. }Aaestes seed na knew tho people cl San Luis yrru sans~uva tc the dangers al the local geld mine but added Ihal on Saludey 'we tountl tit last how cen6itive I1ay are' Maesies whose team usually holds lour such dugs a ch year, sa,d he 'guaranteetl things wo:ltl be tluno differs nlly' the next I~me er. exercise •.v_s hold m San Luis. Regardless of all the commotion, Maesta~ added, 'people in the commur ity can sleep better knowing this irarning was su ccesslu L'