Work resumes at Troy Mine

Mining has resumed at the copper-silver Troy Mine in northwestern Montana, but federal investigators on Wednesday still were looking into an underground accident that killed a miner there last month.

Although the Mine Safety and Health Administration last week approved mining in most areas of the mine, the section where a July 30 groundfall buried a pickup driven by the victim will be isolated, according to mine majority owner Revett Minerals Inc. of Spokane Valley. The administration considers that area hazardous, and a routine investigation into the fatal accident is ongoing, said MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere.

Seven administration employees remained in Troy on Wednesday, Louviere said. Mining resumed Saturday, Brunsdon said.

Worker Mike Ivins, 55, was killed in an area of the mine about 600 feet underground.

The incident has reduced output at the mine while new areas are developed, but the company should remain profitable for the year, said CFO Scott Brunsdon. Officials on Monday posted second-quarter, pre-tax net income of $8.2 million for the Troy Mine. The reopened mine first turned a profit last year.

“When you lose areas that have been scheduled for mining, you have to reopen up new areas to make up for that,” Brunsdon said.

Roughly 600 tons of concentrate production were lost during the shutdown, according to Revett Minerals. Deliveries to its customer will resume next week, Brunsdon said. Mine officials are redoing production forecasts, he said.

Ironically, mine workers received bonus checks for a year without a lost-time accident just days before the rockfall, Brunsdon said.

“I hope there is an increased awareness of safety issues at the mine,” he said. “We place a very, very high emphasis on safety training, but like any other industrial organization, safety first starts at the workplace.”

The Troy mine produced about 3.5 million pounds of copper and 372,332 ounces of silver during the three months ending June 30, an increase from the same period last year. For the second quarter, Revett Minerals reported net profits of $3.72 million, or $.05 per share, on revenues of $15.9 million.

“This quarter’s performance is by far and way the best financial and operating results that we have reported as a company since our inception,” William Orchow, president and CEO of Revett Minerals, said in a prepared statement. “We are very pleased with the production improvements and cost control activities at Troy.”