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Robert Espinoza Takes Advantage of a "Good Opportunity" Recenth' Robert Espinoza tore down and rebuilt a torque converter. When they fired it up again, the unit leaked -but in unl}' one place. A major accomplishment. "Usually you get three or four leaks the first time you work un that eyuip- mem." said Espinoza, 24, uF San Luis, an entry-level mechanic and one o(the first new employees at the Sun Luis Project. Robes was amone the Costilla Courtly residents who took diesel mechan- ics at the vocational school in Alamosa during the winter of 1988-89. The program. sponsored by the State of Colorado and Battle Mountain, taueM the basics: hydraulics, electrics, air brakes. diesels. and weldine. "When we saw one of the trucks for the first time, it wasjust.'Wow! That's a big one,"' he said. Pretty soon they were studyine diagrams and parts lists. disman- tling eneines and putting them back together. Seven trainees were hired alter the coupe. RAISED IN SAN LUIS Espinoza was raised in San Luis and graduated from Centennial High School in 1984. He moved to Denver and worked for Grease Monkey before taking a job making deliveries for his uncle's office products business. Espinoza's wife Gloria. born and raised in San Pablo, was Robert's sister's best friend at Cemennial. Gloria also moved to Denver where she and Robert really met for the first time. Married now, they have two children. Hannah. 3, and Jeremy, 6 months. As a Centennial senior, Robert was active in sports, but in 1984, his leg was badly hroken. Late last year he had correc- tive surgery and has been on short-term leave from Battle Mountain. "After 1 get back on my feet. I plan to start running and playing some basketball:' he said. FOCUS ON FAMILY, FRIENDS Family and friends are a focus for Robert. There's playing pool and an occasional game of poker. The annual Fiesta de Santa Ana y de Santiago is a chance to bump into people he hasn't seen in a while. Otherwise. "now that I have a family, I like to stay home with my kids and my wife." he said. Robert is optimistic for himself and San Luis. "In three or four years. I'll be a really good mechanic. That's a skill I'll alwa}'s have. Then I can be a good employee (or anyone. the way I've been a good employee for Battle Mountain," he said. "I never give up hope. I almost quit school, but my Mom and Dad talked to me. and I stayed in and finished." he ,aid. "I wan my son and daughter to be the same wa}'. 'hope they're healthy. get their education and accomplish their goals. "I'm confident about the people in San Luis, too. A lot of people have a lot of knuwledee and skills. I pray for them that they get good jobs. too." The long run is important, but Espinoza has an immediate goal. "That's to get my leg strong again and get back to work for B:.ttle Mountain," he said.'~This job is not a chance you get all the time. It's a eood opportunity." WATER FOR THE SAN LUIS PROJECT: NOT MUCH LOCAL IMPACT Like our neighbors, we at Batde Mountain Gold are concerned about water. That is why we are taking care in develop- ing the water supply for the San Luis Project. Water is needed for minine, and everybody knows it. So yuestions have arisen about water and the San Luis Project. Here are some answers to the yuestions that have come up. To get the water it needs. Battle Mountain has boueht a farm and water rieht.s north of the San Luis Project. Battle Mountain will transport water to the project in a small buried pipeline. Acquir- ing water in this way means that there will be no impact on the town of San Luis or Battle Mountain's neighbors from supplying this water. A process created by Colorado law is under way to redirect the water we need from use on the farm to use at the mine. Both the legal and the technical aspects of the transfer are reviewed so that the county's water users may continue to have full use of their water rights. Two parts of state government are involved: the State Engineer's Office and the Colorado Water Court. The_v carclulls supervise tf is process. 1'he final question of how much impact the '>an Luis Project will have on the local community can be answered very easily. Not Huth. The Sai Luis Project project will use water for processing, but the process a almost a "closed circuit." Some water will evaporate. but we will recycle almost all of it. We will use water to maintain our hich s[anda ~ds of dust control. And finally we will consume water for "domestic" use. the wm~ an ordinary household does. In all. ISattle Mountain will use only a fraction of the water now beine used on the farts, or about as much water as it takes to irrigate 300 acres. Farm h.nd we will not use during our mining operations will be carefully planted with dry land grasses to conserve the soil. Thr~ rest ol'the farm will continue to operate as it has in the past. When we finish using our water rights at the mine, we plan to remm the water to its agricultural use. In the meantime, the San Luis Project will use water to help create 90 jobs in Costilla County.