Revett to start partial production in November

Limited milling operations at the Troy Mine are expected to begin November. Underground crushing began Wednesday when drilling discovered mineralization. The find is the first in several steps that Revett executives hope will lead to the return of full-scale production by the middle of next year.

“We currently have 65 employees at the Troy Mine,” Revett CEO John Shanahan said. “We should have up to 80 as the mill restarts in November and around 95 by yearend.”

About 170 people are expected be working at the Troy Mine when full operations return. In May 2013, about 100 employees were laid off at the mine in the town of 962 people. Falling rocks halted production in December 2012, and workers were assigned tasks such as painting and maintenance during the next six months. Shanahan praised his employees’ work ethic when the layoffs were announced and said he intends to rehire past employees in the following months.

“Thanks to continued work we’ve been able to redevelop the Troy Mine on time and within budget,” Shanahan said. “When we looked at this, the structural conditions were very difficult at this site. The easy decision would have been to close the Troy Mine. But it would have been hard to walk away from 12 years of mine life. We had the permits, an accomplished workforce and a mine site.”

Shanahan said the proven safety record of Troy Mine employees also contributed to his decision to continue on. It has been two years since a mine employee lost time due to an injury. In recognition of the achievement the National Mining Association recently awarded Troy Mine the Sentinels of Safety Award. Shanahan partially attributed his company’s safety record to a reimbursement program that compensates workers’ purchases of safety equipment.

“This is a real feather in our cap,” Shanahan said. “To go two years without an injury is critical. I have been in mining operations around the world, but I have not seen a focus on dedication to workplace safety like this team. I remember a time in other places where going a year without a fatality is pretty good.”

In late August, Revett agreed to a $5 million loan with a major equipment financing company. Shanahan said the 6.25 percent interest rate was attainable in part due to redevelopment going smoothly.

“We were pleased to get our financing right,” Shanahan said. “We always ran with about $3,000,000 in capital leases and now we’re at about $5,000,000. This makes for a soft landing. No one wants to work for a company that cannot pay its bills.”

Full-scale production at the Troy Mine results in 4,000 tons of milled ore per day. The partial production beginning in November will produce 750-1,000 tons of ore per day.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics most recently reported unemployment at 11.2 percent in Lincoln County.