Revett Minerals officials have completed underground inspections from the south adit of the Troy Mine, and they found more groundfall, however, plans are being made to resume mining operations by April.

The inspections, done in conjunction with Mine Safety and Health Administration and a Revett geotechnical consultant, confirmed groundfall along a portion of the main haulage route approximately 3,000 feet from the south adit entrance.

Based on the information gathered to date, a connecting drive from a northeastern stope of the north orebody to a southeastern stope in the lower quartzite is currently being developed and will allow for further inspections of the mine and planning of alternate haulage and utilities routes.

“We are pleased that our assessments to date of the north orebody, which is our main production mining area, indicate that it is largely unaffected by recent structural ground issues. Regaining full and safe access to these areas and developing new haulage and regress routes will be our prime focus over the coming 8-10 weeks,” Revett CEO John Shanahan said.

Mine officials are following a plan to safely resume production, which will include development of a secondary escape-way and rerouting of utilities, which they believe may allow Revett to recommence commercial operations by early April. Should the Company discover structural damage in the lower quartzite haulage route, alternative access routes may need to be considered. Mine officials will provide an update if they discovers structural damage in the Lower Quartzite haulage route or other factors that hinder the Company’s ability to meet the timeline currently being followed.

“The south orebody remains somewhat problematic, and we will have limited access in that area for the immediate time-frame. However, conditions observed to date in the north orebody suggest  that we could return to commercial  production (in the near term) early in the second quarter.” Shanahan said.