Spokane Valley, Washington – Revett Minerals Inc. (RVM-TSX) (“Revett” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce continued production and exploration success at the Troy Mine.
Recent Operating Highlights Include:
> During Q1 2009, the Troy Mine Produced 321,149 ounces of silver and 2.3 million pounds of copper compared to 231,912 ounces silver and 2.1 million pounds of copper for the same period last year;
> The Troy mine improved mill throughput during the first quarter, averaging 3,811 tons per day compared to 3,369 tons per day in the first quarter of 2008
> Productivity and cost improvements continued into the first quarter of 2009 resulting in a reduction of 29% in direct operating costs per ton compared to the same period last year.
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Troy Production Summary(1)
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January
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February
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March
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1st Quarter 2009
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1st Quarter 2008
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Mill Production
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Mill Feed (st)
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118,253
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98,786
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122,132
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339,171
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299,863
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Mill Feed Rate (stpd)
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3,942
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3,528
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3,940
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3,811
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3,369
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Silver
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Feed Grade - Oz/Ton Ag
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1.16
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1.05
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1.04
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1.08
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0.87
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Mill Recovery - Ag
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87.2%
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86.3%
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87.5%
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87.0%
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89.0%
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Recovered Ounces
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120,475
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89,801
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110,873
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321,149
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231,912
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Copper
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Feed Grade - % Cu
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0.41%
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0.38%
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0.40%
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0.40%
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0.41
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Mill Recovery - Cu
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87.1%
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85.3%
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86.2%
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86.2%
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86.5%
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Recovered Pounds
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837,650
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639,184
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839,868
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2,316,702
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2,129,522
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Cash Cost(2)
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Direct Operating Cost (US$/st)
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18.12
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20.76
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17.56
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18.69
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26.34
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By-Product Basis (payable)(3)
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- Silver (US$/oz) or,
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12.81
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16.78
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11.35
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13.41
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8.55
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- Copper (US$/lb)
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1.67
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1.91
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1.48
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1.67
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2.55
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Co-Product Basis (payable)(3)
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- Silver (US$/oz) and,
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11.80
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15.88
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12.34
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13.10
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13.79
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- Copper (US$/lb)
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1.53
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1.78
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1.60
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1.63
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2.82
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Production Table Notes:
1. Production statistics are on a 100% basis.
2. Cash cost per payable ounce of silver or payable pound of copper is a non GAAP measure. The Company believes that, in addition to cost of sales, cash costs per ounce or per pound is a useful and complementary benchmark for performance and is well understood and widely reported in the mining industry. However, cash costs per ounce does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by Canadian GAAP. Investors are cautioned that cash costs per ounce or per pound should not be construed as an alternative to cost of sales determined in accordance with Canadian GAAP as an indicator of performance. The Company's method of calculating cash costs per ounce or per pound may differ from the methods used by other entities and, accordingly, the Company's cash costs per ounce or per pound may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other entities.
3. Average commodity prices used to off-set (by-product credit basis) or allocate (co-product basis) cash costs are the monthly weighted average realized prices based on invoiced shipments.
Exploration Update
Revett’s drill program recently produced some very promising results at the Troy Mine with drilling targeting expansion of the South Ore Body Lower Quartzite area. While the Lower Quartzite is typically a lower grade area, the results of this drilling are particularly promising due to the significantly higher grades in drill hole 09-LWA77SW-14 with silver grades averaging two times higher than normal over a nearly 25 foot thick interval. This area remains open to the south and follow up drilling is anticipated to further define the potential for expansion of reserves in this area.
From December 1, 2008 through April 2, 2009, the Troy Mine drilled fourteen (14) NQ2 diamond drill holes in the South Ore Body Lower Quartzite West Stope. The drilling, designed to extend the orebody to the south beyond the previous drill data and to increase the confidence in ore quality in this area, included low angle fans of holes to extend the ore zone and short vertical holes to define bench ore.
Below is a table summarizing the results of this drilling program. Reserve/resource calculations are in progress with the results expected to increase both tonnage and grade for mill throughput from this stope in 2009.
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Stratigraphic
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Core Holes
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(True) Thickness
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Silver
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Copper
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opt
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%
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08-LWA73I-01 and 08-LWA73I-02
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30.1
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1.23
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0.39
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09-LWA74F-03 and 09-LWA74F-04
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18.9
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1.45
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0.33
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09-LWA75I-06 and 09-LWA75I-06
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19.1
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1.5
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0.4
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09-LWA77SW-14
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24.6
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2.49
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0.59
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Bench Definition
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09-LWA75I -07
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12
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0.67
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0.23
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09-LWA75I -08
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10.5
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0.78
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0.26
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09-LWA75I -10
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11
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1.61
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0.26
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09-LWA75I -11
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14
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1.72
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0.54
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09-LWA75I -12
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5.5
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1.02
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0.42
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09-LWA75I -13
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18
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1.16
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0.38
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A total of 402 samples were taken from the fourteen core hole intercepts in the Lower Quartzite of the Upper Revett. Detailed geologic logging identified the mineralized intervals to be sampled. All the samples were prepared from the entire NC cores (~2"). In general, four foot intervals were sampled. All samples were analyzed for copper, silver and lead using atomic absorption spectrometry. Sample intervals determined to be within the ore zone were analyzed for non-sulfide copper.
The Troy Mine laboratory prepared the samples and performed the assays. The quality assurance / quality control at the Troy Mine laboratory consisted of 45 analyses of standard samples. The average differences between the mine laboratory results and the known samples were 0.005 ounces per ton for silver (2.2%) and 0.003 percent for copper (2.5%) for the low grade standard and 0.001 ounces per ton for silver (0.1%) and 0.007 percent for copper (1.4%) for the ore grade standard. For information regarding the geology and mineralogy of the Troy Mine Deposit, refer to the Company’s Form 10-K, filed March 31, 2009.
Mr. Larry Erickson, an employee of the Troy Mine and Revett’s Qualified Person, has verified the data relating to the results of drilling disclosed in this press release and has reviewed the contents of this press release.
Mr. John Shanahan, President and CEO, noted “Our exploration and operating teams are very excited about our first quarter achievements and exploration prospects. This coupled with the recent rebound in metals prices, has strengthened our confidence in operations at the Troy Mine.”
John Shanahan
President & CEO
For more information, please contact: Doug Ward, VP Corporate Development or Monique Hayes, Investor/Corporate Communication Manager (509) 921-2294 or visit our website at
www.revettminerals.com.
Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to those with respect to our expectation that reserve/resource calculations in progress will increase both tonnage and grade for mill throughput in 2009, and the future potential of Troy. Actual results and developments could be affected by our challenging working capital position and our inability to continue to fund operations, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
© Copyright 2009, Revett Minerals Inc.
