Montana officials wary of gold mine work camp

MARYSVILLE, Mont. (AP) — Lewis and Clark County officials say they're concerned about 11 RV campers being used by workers at a gold and silver mine that could pose health concerns and violate county ordinances for RV parks.

"We've tried to give them the benefit of the doubt," said Kathy Moore, administrator of the county health department's environmental services division. "This is a new business coming into the community and providing jobs. But there comes a time when you have to get hard-nosed, and that point is close. They need to make some decisions today about what's happening now so they can better plan for the future."

Darryl James, spokesman for Canada-based RX Exploration, told the Independent Record (http://bit.ly/u56joR) that the company is working with the county on the RV campers that have turned up at the Drumlummon Mine.

"If they have to scatter, they'll probably wind up doing the same thing somewhere else," James said. "It's better to know where they are and what they're doing, than to scatter them and deal with it that way. We're trying to find a reasonable solution rather than just scatter them."

The company doesn't offer housing for mine employees, and lodging is limited in nearby Marysville. Moore said miners in the campers may be exposed to mercury and other contaminants because the campers sit atop old mining areas. Besides mercury, there are elevated levels of lead, arsenic, zinc, silver and copper.

"We don't know if they're being exposed to something in the soils," Moore said.

She also said having a group of people living in one area without services is a problem. There are portable toilets available, but nothing for disposing dishwater, often called gray water.

"If they're going to keep collecting trailers there, they need to have rules in place, and gray-water disposal has to be regulated according to the law," Moore said. "We can work with them on that. But this is one of those work camps, and I'm honestly confused on how we move forward. I think there needs to be some review and some planning."

The Drumlummon Mine north of Helena produced 65,000 ounces of silver and 4,000 ounces of gold between June 1 and Sept. 30 of this year.

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Information from: Independent Record, http://www.helenair.com