February 16, 2000: Sudbury, Ontario - Houston Lake Mining Inc. ("Houston Lake") is pleased to announce that the Company has received commitments in excess of the maximum $100,000 private placement announced February 1, 2000. The company is offering a minimum of 320,000 flow-through common shares up to a maximum of 400,000 flow-through common shares at a price of $0.25 per share for maximum gross proceeds of $100,000. The private placement has a hold period of one and a half years in Ontario and one year in Alberta and is expected to close within the next few days.

Proceeds will be used for working capital purposes to advance exploration on Tib Lake Palladium Property which is located in the Thunder Bay Mining District of northwestern Ontario. Houston Lake has the option to earn a 100 percent interest in the Tib Lake property subject to a 2.5 percent NSR. Houston Lake has expended approximately $220,000 to date and completed all required cash payments on the property. Houston Lake is required to spend an additional $80,000 and issue 50,000 common shares by March 16, 2000 to earn the Company’s interest.

The Tib Lake Palladium Property is located just 6 miles northwest of the Lac Des Iles Mine of North American Palladium Ltd. ("NAPL"), where a recently announced positive feasibility study recommended a US$126 million expansion of the mine. Reserves at the Roby Zone open pit of the Lac Des Iles Mine have been increased to 74.2 million tonnes grading 1.64 grams palladium, 0.18 grams platinum and 0.14 grams gold per tonne plus 0.07% copper and 0.06% nickel, based on a cutoff grade of 0.92 grams palladium-equivalent.

The Tib Lake gabbro is the second largest mafic intrusion (25 to 30 sq. km.) of the Lac Des Iles intrusive suite with the Lac Des Iles Intrusive Complex being the largest (35 sq. km.). Globally, large intrusion size accompanied by high platinum group (PGE) background values are found to be important determinants for the potential to host for large tonnage deposits of PGE’s. Previous mapping by the Ontario Geological Survey and recent work by Houston Lake found similar rock types, geological environment and ore-forming processes to that noted in the vicinity of the Lac Des Iles palladium mine. An OGS report (Precambrian Geology of the Tib Gabbro, Lac des Iles Area, Ontario Geological Survey Map p.3092 by A. R. Smith and R. H. Sutcliffe, 1987) notes:

"The association of magma mixing and PGE mineralization is similar to that which occurs in the Roby Zone of the nearby Lac Des Iles Complex. Magma mixing is another important mechanism for the precipitation of sulphide mineralization and subsequent concentration of PGE’s."

The 1632 hectare (4030 acre) Tib Lake Palladium Property covers over 60 percent of the prospective Border and Lower Zones and hosts all known palladium occurrences on the Tib Lake Gabbro. Palladium closed yesterday at US$647 per ounce on the New York Commodities Exchange and is used primarily in catalytic converters for the automotive industry.

The current exploration program is largely comprised of IP (Induced Polarization) geophysical surveys which is expected to generate drill targets for future exploration on the property. The exploration program is focusing on a sulfide-bearing heterogeneous gabbro/gabbro breccia which is the host rock type to the majority of the palladium occurrences discovered thus far on the property:

The Kuhner Occurrence is the site where a 1995 drill hole intersected a core length of 18.47 metres of 1.68 g/t PGE’s (palladium, platinum, and gold) including 7.47 metres of 2.76 g/t PGE’s and including 4.53 g/t PGE’s over 2.12 metres at a depth of 30.5 metres. This result was confirmed as 1.60 g/t PGE’s over 18.47 metres in 1999 by Houston Lake.

The Jewelweed Occurrence is located approximately 2.5 km. northwest of the Kuhner Occurrence and returned 1.2 g/t PGE’s in a government sample.

The Road Occurrence is a poorly exposed outcrop containing anomalous PGE values in a net-textured sulfide-bearing gabbronorite breccia and is located 800 m. east of the Jewelweed Occurrence.

The private placement is subject to approval of the Canadian Venture Exchange. 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 11,392,016 common shares issued and outstanding exclusive of the current private placement financing. 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.