December 5, 2000: Sudbury, Ontario - Houston Lake Mining Inc. ("Houston Lake") is pleased to announce that the Company has received positive recommendations from two independent reports documenting recent exploration on the Company’s 1632 hectare (4030 acre) Tib Lake Palladium Project. A $(CDN)550,000 exploration program is recommended that would include a 3500 metre diamond drilling program. The exploration program would seek to test strike extensions of the economically significant palladium-platinum-gold-nickel-copper mineralization intercepted in recent drilling at the Kuhner Occurrence. The property is located just 15 km (9 miles) northwest of the Lac Des Iles Mine of North American Palladium Ltd. in the Lac Des Iles area of northwestern Ontario. Houston Lake has earned a 100 percent interest in the property subject to a 2.5 percent Net Smelter Royalty with a buyback of 1 percent for $(CDN)1,000,000.

"Palladium established a fresh all-time high yesterday as buyers scrambled to secure scarce supplies amid worries over exports in the new year from key producer Russia. Palladium jumped to fix at a new all-time high of $875 an ounce, up from $828 an ounce on Friday and $20 above the previous record high" (Reuters, December 4, 2000). Palladium is the key component governing the effectiveness of automotive smog control devices. Increasing concerns over the environmental impact of automotive emissions have driven up demand for palladium. Russia is the main global exporter of palladium but has only sporadically supplied the metal recently.

The purpose of the recently completed Tib Lake exploration program was two fold: 1) to investigate the cause of geophysical anomalies in separate areas of the large 4000 acre property and 2) to improve the level of understanding of the property geology that produced economically significant PGE results. Independent consulting geologists and Houston Lake management all agree that the exploration program was successful in meeting these objectives. The 1,037.6 metre (3,403.3 foot) diamond drilling program intersected a highlight of 22 metres (72.2 feet) of core length grading 1.456 g/t PGE’s (palladium + platinum + gold), 0.17% nickel and 0.15% copper under the Kuhner Occurrence. This intercept extended the economically significant palladium mineralization at the Kuhner Zone from 35 metres (100 feet) to a depth of 65 metres (213 feet). The Kuhner Zone appears to be widening with depth from relatively narrow surface showings. The Kuhner mineralization may have been extended along strike for several hundred metres to a new palladium occurrence on the west bank of the East Dog River. A map of the large alteration system, palladium occurrences and drill locations is posted on the Company’s web site (www.houstonlakemining.com) under Properties.

Geological mapping has identified a large alteration system (an area of chemically changed rock favourable for economically significant mineralization) which encompasses all known palladium occurrences of the Tib Gabbro. The alteration system reaches over 2.5 km (1.5 miles) in strike length (open in both directions) and reaches 1 km (0.6 miles) in width on the property. Microscope work by Dr. Walter Peredery indicates that the mineralization at the Kuhner Occurrence is related to this large chemical system.

The exploration program was supervised by independent consulting geologist Dr. Ken Germundsen of Sudbury, Ontario. Dr. Germundsen notes in his final report: "The association of magma mixing and platinum group mineralization at the Roby Zone (Lac Des Iles palladium mine) is a relationship that is common to the geological environment of the highly prospective Border Zone and Lower Layer of the Tib Gabbro. Exploration of the Tib Lake Property of Houston Lake Mining Inc. remains at an early stage of evaluation especially owing to the 6.5 km strike length of the prime target area."

A $(CDN)550,000 exploration program is recommended by Dr. Germundsen and would include: a 2 km (1.2 mile) grid extension and geophysical coverage to the east of the Kuhner Occurrence, down hole geophysics to characterize the signature of the economically significant drill intercepts at the Kuhner Zone, detailed geophysical surveys to distinguish drill targets in the Kuhner vicinity and alteration system, and a 3500 metre diamond drilling program to define strike extensions of the Kuhner mineralization. Houston Lake is discussing joint venture opportunities with several well-funded companies and is exploring possibilities for a brokered financing to advance the project.

Houston Lake is actively exploring for rare metals, platinum group metals and gold in northwestern Ontario. The common shares of Houston Lake Mining Inc. trade through the facilities of the Canadian Venture Exchange under the symbol HLM. Houston Lake Mining Inc. has a total of 12,972,432 common shares issued and outstanding. For further information on all of the Company’s projects, we invite you to visit us at www.houstonlakemining.com.

For more information, please contact:

E. Grayme Anthony   B.Sc., P. Geo., F.G.A.C., M. B. A.

Tel: (705) 897-7622
Fax: (705) 897-7618
e-mail: houston@vianet.on.ca
Web Site: www.houstonlakemining.com

The Canadian Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.

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