Revett Minerals Inc. said that the Troy Mine situated in western Montana had enough copper and silver ore for the mine to operate for another 7 years minimum. It could even be longer, an official from the Spokane, Washington based company said.
The president of the company John Shanahan told Flathead Beacon that the higher prices being obtained for minerals have made it possible to mine the abundant low grade ore present at the mine profitably.
Nearly 1.4 million tons of ore was processed at the Troy Mine in 2011 and earned Revett Minerals nearly $30 million. The Troy Mine saw initial mining operations in 1981 and was shut down subsequently in 1993 due to low mineral prices.
More recently the upward spiraling prices of both copper and silver saw the mine being reopened in 2005. Despite the lower grade of mineral ore the mine is operating at a profit and hopes to continue to do so for at least another seven years.