Revett Minerals Reports Second Quarter 2010 Financial and Operating Results

SPOKANE VALLEY, WA -- (Marketwire - August 16, 2010) - Revett Minerals Inc., (TSX: RVM) (OTCBB: RVMIF) ("Revett" or the "Company") announces its consolidated operating and financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010. Currency is reported in United States dollars unless otherwise indicated.


Major Highlights for six months ended June 30, 2010 include:

-- For the six month period ended June 30, 2010 the Company generated $3.4 million operating cash-flow from the Troy Mine.

-- The Company has continued to reduce debt, bringing the amount now outstanding to Trafigura AG to $2.1 million.

-- Troy continued its mill throughput productivity gains, averaging 4,123 for the first half of 2010 compared to 3,871 tpd average for the same period last year.

-- For the six month period ended June 30, 2010 the Company recorded sales of $21.4 million compared to revenues of $16.9 million for the first six months of 2009.

-- Advanced development work for the higher grade "C Bed" reserves. (containing 1.2m tons of ore grading 1.61 ounces per ton silver and 0.56% copper.) Access should be completed by the end of the third quarter, 2010;

-- Increased exploration efforts resulted in highest grade intercepts yet in the "I-Beds" increasing overall confidence to significantly extend Troy's mine life. (see press release dated June 23, 2010)


Consolidated Results

Concentrate deliveries and sales during the second quarter of 2010 consisted of 1.8 million pounds of payable copper and 191,312 ounces of payable silver, compared to 2.2 million pounds of payable copper and 271,593 ounces of payable silver during the second quarter of 2009. The primary reason for lower metal production in the second quarter of 2010 was lower grades being mined from the Lower Quartzite areas as access development work continued in the East Ore Body and "C-Bed" areas. By quarter end, mining had resumed in the East Ore Body and metal grades have improved significantly and are expected to remain at plan levels in the third quarter.

For the six month period ended June 30, 2010 the Company reported a net loss after taxes of $0.1 million or $0.0 per share compared to a net loss of $1.9 million or $0.02 per share for the six months ended June 30, 2009. Lower production was offset by higher metals prices during the first half of 2010 compared to 2009. During the six month period ended June 30, 2010, copper prices averaged $3.23 per pound and silver averaged $17.62 per ounce compared to $1.83 per pound for copper and $13.17 per ounce for silver during the same period in 2009.

John Shanahan, President and CEO, noted "Despite mining the lowest grades that we have encountered so far since bringing Troy back into production in late 2004, we are delighted with the consistency in our mining cycle and operating cost containment efforts. Troy operations remain cash flow positive. We have moved back into higher grade areas in the third quarter and we are set for a significant grade improvement once again when the C-Bed area is operational in the fourth quarter. We now plan to accelerate our exploration efforts in the I-Beds and look at ways to utilize mill capacity once we have fully delineated these new mining areas."


Troy Mine

The following is a summary of key operating statistics for Troy for the three months ended June 30, 2010 and for the comparable period ended June 30, 2009.

+---------------------+----------------------------+----------------------+
| | Three Months Ended June | Three Months Ended |
| | 30, 2010 | June 30, 2009 |
+---------------------+----------------------------+----------------------+
|Tons milled | 354,359 | 349,925 |
+---------------------+----------------------------+----------------------+
|Tons milled per day | 3,982 | 3,932 |
+---------------------+----------------------------+----------------------+
|Copper grade (%) | 0.33 | 0.39 |
+---------------------+----------------------------+----------------------+
|Silver grade (opt) | 0.70 | 1.01 |
+---------------------+----------------------------+----------------------+
|Copper recovery (%) | 81.0 | 84.0 |
+---------------------+----------------------------+----------------------+
|Silver recovery (%) | 84.0 | 86.0 |
+---------------------+----------------------------+----------------------+
|Copper produced (lbs)| 1,888,935 | 2,284,770 |
+---------------------+----------------------------+----------------------+
|Silver produced (ozs)| 207,948 | 301,770 |
+---------------------+----------------------------+----------------------+

Production during the second quarter of 2010 was improved slightly at 3,982 tons per day compared to 3,932 tons per day for the second quarter of 2009. The increase in tons milled was offset by lower grades mined as the copper grade was 16% lower in the second quarter of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. Silver grade in the second quarter of 2010 was 30% lower compared to the same period in 2009.

Ore grades remain lower than life-of-mine averages (as was planned in the mine schedule), due to mining additional ore from Lower Quartzite area. Mill recoveries remained good but slightly lower than plan due to the lower grades and higher percentage of non-sulfide ores milled at 84% for silver and 81% for copper. The table below shows a comparison of operating costs per ton milled by quarter.


+-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| | Q2.10 | Q1.10 | Q4.10 | Q3.09 | Q2.09 | Q1.09 |
+-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|Tons milled |354,359|379,592|345,586|302,543|349,925|339,171|
+-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|Cost per ton milled ($)| 23.49 | 22.99 | 23.71 | 25.03 | 21.89 | 21.90 |
+-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

Rock Creek

Following the US District Court's full opinion issued May 4, 2010, which dismissed challenges related to Endangered Species, Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, the Company is actively working with the U.S. Forest Service to expedite work on a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. Revett continues to feel confident regarding the legal progress made to date and is encouraged by the ongoing support of the State and Federal agencies involved.

The full Second Quarter 2010 consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD & A) can be viewed on www.sedar.com and the Company's web site at www.revettminerals.com

About Revett

Revett Minerals, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates the currently producing Troy Mine in Lincoln County, Montana and development-stage Rock Creek Project located in Sanders County, Montana, USA. The proven reserves at the Troy Mine and significant resources at the Rock Creek project will form the basis of our plan to become a solid mid-tier base and precious metals producer. Revett plans on expanding production through exploration in and around its current properties, as well as through targeted business combinations of advanced stage projects.


John Shanahan
President & CEO




For more information, please contact:

Doug Ward, VP Corporate Development or
Monique Hayes, Corporate/Investor Communications
at (509) 921-2294 or
visit our website at www.revettminerals.com.




Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, these forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "is not expected", "budget", "plans", "schedule", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "or does not anticipate" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include but are not limited to those with respect to the expectation of production and improved grades from the "C Bed" reserves in the fourth quarter of this year, accelerated exploration of the "I-Beds" at Troy mine, and ongoing support from State and Federals agencies regarding permitting of the Rock Creek Project. Forward looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Reference is also made to those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Form 10-K filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and with the SEC on EDGAR. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Revett Minerals does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

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Source: Revett Minerals Inc. via Thomson Reuters ONE