Troy Mine suffers setback

Underground excavation at Revett Minerals, Inc., Troy Mine will not resume during the fourth quarter this year as hoped, officials said Wednesday.

Revett CEO and President John Shanahan said inspection of the Lower Quartzite area reveals instability and the company is now looking at an alternative route to the I Bed development at its Troy Mine.

The company’s six-paragraph announcement states continued dewatering and inspection of the Lower Quartzite haulage route have revealed unexpected structural instability, which the company said does not meet its standards of safety for further development.

As a consequence, Revett officials have decided they will not resume mining operations using the Lower Quartzite route, as originally planned, but will instead construct a new development decline to the North C Bed and I Bed deposits in the Lower Revett Formation.

“Although our expectation to return to production this quarter will not happen, our valuable infrastructure remains intact, and we remain confident the Troy Mine can safely resume operations,” Shanahan said.

The cost of the new route is presently estimated to be approximately $12 million. The company has enough money to commence construction, Shanahan said, and is confident that the additional money required to complete the development project can be obtained next year. In the meantime, Revett will try conserve its cash and reduce overall expenses.

Despite the setback, Shanahan spoke of resuming operations in the final quarter of 2014 at the Troy mine, and soon after he expected progress toward the Rock Creek project.

“We now feel like this new route will allow us not to say we hope,” Shanahan said. “We’re looking to resume at the end of 2014 and we’d like to see a Record of Decision on Rock Creek by December 2014 and break ground in early spring of 2015.”

At Troy, Shanahan believes Revett can construct the new decline through previously unmined areas.

“The development to the I Bed, which is expected to initially access the North C Bed for production late next year, is the best development alternative available,” Shanahan said. “We have at least 10 years of mine life at Troy where resuming operations and utilizing our experiences in the Revett formation will continue to be our all-important bridge to Rock Creek.”