Spokane Valley-based mining company Revett Minerals Inc. says it had a second-quarter net loss of $2.2 million, or 7 cents a diluted share, down from net income of $7.9 million, or 16 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.

For the first six months of 2012, the company reported earnings of $1.5 million, down from $5.1 million in the first half of 2011. The company operates the silver- and copper-producing Troy Mine in Montana. It also plans to develop the Rock Creek mining project, near Noxon, Mont.

Revett Minerals attributed its second-quarter loss and an overall decline in production mostly to lower metal prices and reduced access to a higher-graded mining area because of extended spring rains and an unseasonably high snowmelt.

The company reported second-quarter revenues of $13.5 million, down from $18.8 million for the year-earlier period.

"Despite reduced second-quarter production, Troy's solid operations continue to provide an important source of cash flow and is the basis of building an experienced and growing workforce in the region," said John Shanahan, Revett president and CEO, in a press release.

The second-quarter net loss included a noncash charge of $2 million for the issuance of stock options to employees, Revett says. Additionally, the company says it had higher costs from exploration and development work at the Troy Mine, along with greater expense associated with a Rock Creek supplemental environmental impact statement.

Since late 2004, Revett has planned to develop Rock Creek as an underground copper and silver mine that would tunnel beneath the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area, which requires an extensive approval and permitting process through state and federal agencies.

For the first sixth months at its Troy Mine, Revett says it had a slight increase in silver production at nearly 603,000 ounces, or up 3 percent compared with the first half of 2011. However, its copper production dropped 17 percent, totaling 4.2 million pounds, compared with 5 million pounds for the year-earlier period.

Second-quarter silver production totaled almost 278,400 ounces, compared with 342,800 in the year-earlier period. Copper production for the latest quarter was 1.9 million pounds, down from 3 million pounds a year earlier.

The company also says that its costs of selling increased in recent months because of higher freight, treatment, and other costs.