Revett increases wages at mine

Only a matter of months ago, Troy Mine workers were unsure about whether or not they would have jobs as silver and copper prices plummeted.

Employees saw their wages cut 10 percent in an effort to keep the mine rolling under difficult economic challenges. Last week, notices went up at the mine that workers would receive a 5-percent pay hike as of July 1.

Wages are still 5 percent shy of those original levels, but the company’s move materialized despite continued concerns with debt management.

“We promised everyone at the end of the first quarter we would review things, which we did do,” said John Shanahan, chief executive officer of Revett Minerals, Troy Mine’s parent company. “We felt it was the right thing to do.”

A 20-percent wage cut implemented in December for executives at Troy Mine and at Revett Minerals’ corporate office in Spokane Valley, Wash., remained intact.

Giving the approximately 185 employees part of their wage back was a tough decision to make, Shanahan said, because although the mine is no longer on the verge of closing, metal prices are still low and the company is still working on ways to manage its debt. 

“We’re in much better shape than we were six months ago,” Shanahan said. “We’re chiseling away at stuff. We’re not out of the woods yet.”

Shanahan credits Troy Mine workers for staying positive and increasing productivity in the midst of a pay cut.

“This is a good story,” Shanahan said. “It’s about perseverance and people coming together in tough economic times – not just making things happen but improving things.”

The company’s first quarter results, which are the most recent available, reveal that the mine yielded 38 percent more silver and 10 percent more copper in the first quarter this year than the first quarter last year. Improved productivity, combined with reducing consumables, resulted in a 29-percent reduction in operating costs per ton compared to the first quarter of last year.

Shanahan said that Revett’s board would, at the end of the year, revisit restoring everyone’s full wage, though no promises can be made.

“We’ll be a stronger company by the end of the year,” Shanahan said. “Every month is another step” toward recovery.