Spokane-based Mines Management Inc., which is involved in mine-property acquisition, exploration, and development, says it has elected to extend an exploration program at the La Estrella gold-silver project in Peru after reviewing positive results from last year's drilling program.

In 2012, the company executed an exploration earn-in agreement with Estrella Gold Corp. for an option to acquire 75 percent of the La Estrella gold and silver exploration property in the central area of Peru. Mines Management recently notified Estrella Gold of its intent to continue the agreement for a second year and made an annual lease payment, a company press release says.

Mines Management also submitted proposed modifications for the La Estrella exploration permit to the Peruvian regulatory agencies.

In recently released year-end financial results, the company has reported a net loss for all of last year of $8 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with a loss of $5.6 million, or 20 cents per share, for 2011.

Meanwhile, Mines Management's proposed development of its Montanore project, in northwestern Montana, has been hit with a recent legal challenge that could delay the company's plans to begin mine development from an adit, which is a mine entrance, several media outlets have reported.

A Montana District Court judge recently ruled in favor of defendants in Idaho who argue they have valid mining claims near the Mines Management adit site for the mine project that would bore under the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, but the company has said it will appeal the decision to the state's Supreme Court, Montana newspapers have reported.

In 2012, some of the company's largest expenses included permitting costs and fees for the Montanore project, which is awaiting federal approval for an exploratory mining permit that could lead to a large silver and copper mine 18 miles southwest of Libby, Mont.

Other expenses last year included drilling and related technical services for Mines Management's development of La Estrella. For all of 2012, the company says its Montanore project expenses totaled $2.7 million, which was slightly less than the Montanore costs of $2.9 million in the year prior. The company also had the new expenses for the La Estrella project totaling $1.2 million last year.

"There was significant progress made on the permitting process for the Montanore in 2012, setting the stage for advancement through the final phase toward completion," said Glenn Dobbs, the company's chairman and CEO, in the press release detailing its 2012 financial results.

The company says it expects to focus this year on planning for its exploration and delineation drilling program at the Montanore project, pending final permitting approvals.

Dobbs added in the release, "Both the Montanore and Estrella projects have advanced markedly during the year, although declining valuations have plagued the entire minerals sector, and we are hopeful for a rebound in the junior metals market."

The company says its cash and investments remained strong at $11.8 million as of the end of December. It expects expenditures in 2013 to total about $6.2 million.

In recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said the company's board elected Glenn Dobbs' son, Douglas Dobbs, as company president. With that promotion, the filing said, Glenn Dobbs has ceased to serve as president but continues to serve as a director, chairman, and CEO.

An SEC filing also says that the company's chief financial officer, James H. Moore, died unexpectedly on March 18. Nicole Altenburg, the company's controller, has been appointed to serve as principal financial officer and principal accounting officer, the filing said, as the company searches for a new CFO.