With an eye on increased productivity, U.S. Silver & Gold plans on ramping up production at its Galena Mine early next year.

During a third-quarter earnings report Tuesday, U.S. S & G President Darren Blasutti said the company plans to move from a 5-day work week to a 24/7 operation that will include employees working 12-hour shifts instead of 8-hour shifts. The company currently has 368 employees at its Galena project, including 60 who were added in August.

Blasutti is excited about increased productivity at the Canadian company's Idaho mines.

"We believe the Lead Zone is key to a bright future for the company," he said. "We have this huge resource. We know it can be mined, and we have the capacity to do it."

U.S. Silver and Gold made a $3.7 million profit in the third quarter, or six cents per share, before factoring in $5.5 million in one-time charges related to its acquisition of RX Gold & Silver Inc. in mid-August.

The company reported a third-quarter net loss of $1.8 million, or three cents a share, when merger costs were factored in, although revenue increased from $14.7 million in the second quarter to $34.4 million in the third quarter.

Blasutti said the company "is making good process to ship (gold and silver) ore to Idaho" from its Drumlummon (Montana) Mine in the first quarter of next year. The milling and processing would be done at the Galena complex.

Company management believes cost savings of $30 to $40 per ton can be achieved by milling ore at the Galena complex, as opposed to using a leased mill at Philipsburg, Mont. The company reports seeing benefits at the Galena complex from reduced inventory, warehousing, shared services, personnel and equipment and exploration synergies as a result of the merger.

There are 163 employees at the Helena-area Drumlummon Mine, which was cited for 37 violations by the Mine Safety and Health Administration in August.

Year-to-date combined production at the Idaho and Montana properties was 1.9 million ounces of silver and 16,600 ounces of gold.

The company reports that it remains on target to mine between 2.6 to 2.8 million ounces of silver and 20,000 to 25,000 ounces of gold this year.

"The quarter has played out as we expected," Blasutti said. "We expect the fourth quarter to be the best of the year (in regard to the Galena complex)."

On Tuesday, shares of U.S. Silver & Gold were down 2 cents and closed at $2.06.

The company's board of directors has approved $3 million for exploration drilling for the remainder of the fiscal year. This includes work at the Lead Zone along with a newly discovered Frankie Zone at the Drumlummon Mine.

Three holes were drilled at the newly-acquired Belmont Mine near Superior, Mont. before snow forced crews off the mountain until spring, said Jim Atkinson, vice president of exploration. The drilling revealed gold veins, he said.