Spokane Valley-based Revett Minerals Inc. has announced record third-quarter production at its Troy Mine, near Troy, Mont.

The company reported that for the three-month period ending Sept. 30, it had mined a total of almost 403,000 ounces of silver and more than 3.28 million pounds of copper. That equated to a 45 percent increase in silver production and a 39 percent increase in copper production compared with the same period last year, it said.

John Shanahan, Revett's president and chief executive officer, said in a press release that in addition to the record output, the company plans to continue an exploration effort in and around the Troy Mine.

Based on exploration and engineering efforts there, Revett has preliminary design plans for further drilling below and adjacent to the Troy Mine to start as early as the middle of next year, pending state and federal approval. It also is drilling new holes on an older nearby core, called the JF property, and the company plans to give an update on those results at the end of this year.

Troy's production this year is expected to total 1.3 million ounces of silver and 11 million pounds of copper. Last year, the mine produced 1 million ounces of silver and 8.7 million pounds of copper.

Revett Minerals, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates the Troy Mine and the development-stage Rock Creek Project, near Noxon, Mont.