Revett Provides Summary of 2010 Operations and Year End Reserves
SPOKANE VALLEY, WA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/08/11 -- Revett Minerals Inc. (TSX: RVM)
(OTCBB: RVMID) ('Revett' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce full year
operating results and year end reserve and resource estimates for the Troy
Mine,
located in northwest Montana. Currency is reported in United States dollars
unless otherwise indicated.
Troy Mine Operating Highlights
Revett is proud to have achieved its sixth consecutive year of increased
productivity at its 100% owned Troy Mine. Highlights from 2010 include the
following:
* Net cash ((4)) provided from operations before capital expenditures was
$12.2 million;
* Record mill throughput with 1.3 million tons processed. Averaging 3,807
stpd for 2010 as compared to 3,725 stpd in 2009;
* Completion of the 3,000 ft. decline to access the higher grade C Bed
area;
* Extended the mine life of Troy to a total of seven years with the
addition of 4 million tons of mineable reserves in the I Beds; and
* Continued exploration efforts focusing on I Bed target areas beneath
and adjacent to the existing mine infrastructure.
While the production rate improved overall in 2010, an increase in
development
focus during the fourth quarter on the C bed area resulted in fewer active
headings, temporarily reducing production and increasing direct operating
costs.
Head grades and metal recovery improved in January, and production is
anticipated to return to planned levels as additional headings are
developed.
Total production for 2011 is estimated to be 1.3 million ounces of silver
and
11.0 million pounds of copper. 2011 production costs on a net of by-product
basis are expected to be $3.32 per ounce of silver and $1.48 per pound of
copper
and on a co-product basis costs are estimated to be $10.39 per ounce of
silver
and $2.08 per pound of copper.
-------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Troy Production| 1(st) | 2(nd) | 3(rd) | 4(th) |Total 2010
Summary((1)) | Quarter | Quarter | Quarter | Quarter |
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Mill Production| | | | |
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Mill Feed (st)| 379,592 | 354,359 | 352,296 | 276,645 | 1,362,892
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Mill Feed Rate| | | | |
(stpd) | 4,265 | 3,982 | 3,914 | 3,074 | 3,807
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Silver | | | | |
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Feed Grade - | | | | |
Oz/Ton Ag | 0.86 | 0.70 | 0.95 | 1.00 | 0.87
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Mill Recovery -| | | | |
Ag | 87.5% | 83.9% | 83.2% | 85.3% | 85.1%
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Recovered Ounces| 287,259 | 207,948 | 277,437 | 235,445 | 1,008,089
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Copper | | | | |
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Feed Grade - %Cu| 0.38% | 0.33% | 0.44% | 0.46% | 0.40%
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Mill Recovery - | | | | |
Cu | 85.1% | 80.7% | 76.6% | 82.7% | 81.2%
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Recovered Pounds| 2,456,190 | 1,888,935 | 2,347,643 | 2,101,202 | 8,793,970
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Cash Cost((2)) | | | | |
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Direct Operating| | | | |
Cost (US$/st) | $22.99 | $23.50 | $22.69 | $30.92 | $24.83
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
By-Product Basis| | | | |
(payable)((3)) | | | | |
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
- Silver(US$/oz)| | | | |
or,| $5.39 | $13.08 | $3.18 | $8.27 | $7.04
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
- Copper(US$/lb)| $1.83 | $2.63 | $1.44 | $1.66 | $1.86
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Co-Product Basis| | | | |
(payable)((3)) | | | | |
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
- Silver(US$/oz)| | | | |
and,| $12.38 | $16.40 | $12.42 | $17.14 | $14.38
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
-Copper (US$/lb)| $2.30 | $2.84 | $2.13 | $2.38 | $2.38
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net Cash from | | | | |
Operations((4))| $2.1m | $1.3m | $4.2m | $4.6m | $12.2m
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
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 indNeticator 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 quarterly weighted averages
from the London Metals Exchange for copper or the London Daily Fix for
silver.
4. Net cash before capital expenditures is a non GAAP measure. The
Company believes that net cash provided from operations is a benchmark
for
performance and is well understood and widely reported in the mining
industry
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Troy Reserves & Resources
Estimated Mineral Reserves and Resources as of December 31, 2010 are as
shown in
the following tables:
------------------------------------- -------------------- ---------------
Troy Reserves (Dec. 31, 2010) | Grades | Contained
Metals
-------------------- --------------- --------- --------- -------- --------
Classification((1))| Tons | Silver |Copper (%)| Silver |
Copper
| (Mst)((2,3)) | (opt) | | (Moz) |
(Mlbs)
-------------------- --------------- --------- --------- -------- --------
Proven| 3.0 | 1.41 | 0.73 | 4.3 |
43.8
-------------------- --------------- --------- --------- -------- --------
Probable| 7.5 | 1.13 | 0.37 | 8.4 |
54.9
-------------------- --------------- --------- --------- -------- --------
Total| 10.5 | 1.21 | 0.47 | 12.7 |
98.7
-------------------- --------------- --------- --------- -------- --------
1. Mineral Reserves have been categorized in accordance with the
classifications defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy,
and
Petroleum ('CIMM').
2. Does not include resources contained in planned pillars. Only
material
scheduled to be extracted and milled included.
3. The estimated mineral reserves were calculated by Mr. Larry
Erickson, P
Eng., a Qualified Person ('QP') in accordance with Canadian National
Instrument 43-101 ('NI 43-101'). They are stated using a cut-off grade of
US$
25.57 net smelter return per ton calculated at US$ 14.90/oz Ag and
US$3.02/lb
Cu. Mr. Erickson is an employee of Revett and is not considered
independent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
-------------------------------------- ------------------ -----------------
-
| Grades | Contained
Metals
Troy Resources (Dec. 31, 2010) | |
----------------------- ------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Classification((1)) | Tons | Silver | Copper | Silver |
Copper
| (Mst)((2,3)) | (opt) | (%) | (Moz) |
(Mlbs)
----------------------- ------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Measured | 48.2 | 1.36 | 0.67 | 65.5 |
643.3
---------------------- -------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Indicated | 14.8 | 1.13 | 0.37 | 16.7 |
110.5
---------------------- -------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Total Measured & | 63.0 | 1.30 | 0.60 | 82.2 |
753.8
Indicated* | | | | |
---------------------- -------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
| | | | |
---------------------- -------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
JF Property((4)) | 11.0 | 1.40 | 0.40 | 15.4 | 88.8
---------------------- -------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Total Inferred | 11.0 | 1.40 | 0.40 | 15.4 | 88.8
---------------------- -------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
| | | | |
---------------------- -------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Total Measured, | 74.0 | 1.32 | 0.57 | 97.6 |
842.6
Indicated & Inferred | | | | |
---------------------- -------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
| | | | |
---------------------- -------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
*Pillars Incl. in | 44.2 | 1.35 | 0.66 | 59.8 |
583.1
Meas. & Ind. | | | | |
---------------------- -------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
1. Mineral Resources have been categorized in accordance with the
classifications defined by the CIMM.
2. Includes Proven & Probable Reservesand resources contained in
existing
pillars.
3. The estimated mineral resources were calculated by Mr. Larry
Erickson,
P Eng., a QP in accordance with NI 43-101. They are stated using a cut-off
grade of US$ 25.57 net smelter return per ton calculated at US$ 14.90/oz
Ag
and US$3.02/lb Cu. Mr. Erickson is an employee of Revett and is not
considered
independent.
4. Resources listed for the JF Property are a historical estimate with
the
meaning of NI 43-101 and have not been audited by a Qualified Person. In
1992, ASARCO reported in an internal report a 'Mineral Reserve' for the JF
deposit of '11 million tons grading 0.4% Cu and 1.4 opt Ag.' This
historical
mineral resource estimate, which was prepared before the adoption of NI
43-101 and uses categories other than the ones set out in section 1.2 of
NI
43-101, is considered relevant. A QP has not, however, done sufficient
work
to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources and
accordingly, Revett does not treat ASARCO's historical estimate as current
mineral resources. The reader is cautioned that the ASARCO historical
estimate
should not be relied upon. Revett has not yet taken the steps to validate
this drilling information with new drilling data, however, Mr. Larry
Erickson,
P Eng., a QP in accordance with NI 43-101, has reviewed ASARCO's drilling
data
(ie; core logs, assay results, sections) and believes it to be reliable.
Mr.
Erickson is an employee of Revett.
Mr. John Shanahan, President and CEO, noted '2010 has proven to be a
pivotal
year as our operations at Troy have provided significant cash flow and our
development efforts have opened up new mining areas and identified further
near
term exploration targets. As we focus on realizing the full potential of
the
Troy Mine, meeting our 2011 production targets and advancing the Rock
Creek
project, we remain committed to the safety of our employees, the
communities
where we operate and responsible mineral development above all else.'
John Shanahan
President & CEO
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 applicable Canadian securities legislation and The
Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, these forward
looking
statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology
such as
'expects', or 'does not expect', 'is expected', 'is not expected',
'budget',
'plans', 'schedule', 'estimates', 'forecasts', 'intends',
'anticipates', 'or
does not anticipate' or 'believes' or variations of such words and
phrases or
state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would',
'might'
or 'will', 'occur' or 'be achieved'. Forward-looking statements
contained in
this press release include but are not limited to statements with
respect to,
anticipated grades and production at the Troy Mine, extending the life of
mine
at Troy Mine and anticipated production of the 'C-bed. Actual
results and
developments could be affected by development risks and production risks,, as
well as those factors discussed in the section entitled 'Risk Factors'
in the
Form 10-K filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and with the SEC on EDGAR.
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 results and future events could
differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,
readers
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Revett
Minerals
does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that
are
incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with
applicable
securities laws.
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Revett Minerals Inc. via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1486676]
For more information, please contact:
Monique Hayes
Corporate Secretary /
Director of Investor Relations
(509) 921-2294
or visit our website at
www.revettminerals.com.