February 24, 2000: Sudbury, Ontario - Houston Lake Mining Inc. ("Houston Lake") is pleased to announce that the Company has closed the $100,000 private placement announced February 1, 2000. Houston Lake offered a 400,000 flow-through common shares at a price of $0.25 per share for 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.

Proceeds are being 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 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.

There are currently two IP (Induced Polarization) geophysical crews and several line-cutting crews active on the Tib Lake Palladium Property. Work is expected to be completed well in advance of the March 16, 2000 option date. 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 current grid is being expanded to encompass a two km. long zone of a sulfide-bearing heterogeneous gabbro/gabbro breccia that extends eastward from the Kuhner Occurrence. This rock type is host to the majority of the palladium occurrences discovered thus far on the property:

The Kuhner Occurrence is the site where a 1995 drill hole, TL-95-09, 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 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 (over 25 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 traded yesterday above US$700 per ounce and is used primarily in catalytic converters for the automotive industry.

Houston Lake held its Annual and Special Shareholders Meeting in Sudbury yesterday. An amendment to the Information Circular was unanimously passed to expand the Board from three to four Directors to include recent appointee Robert McLean. The Board of Directors of Houston Lake has over 85 years of experience in the mining industry. A resolution entitling the Company to issue private placement funds up to 6,000,000 common shares in any six month period was unanimously carried.

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 11,792,016 common shares issued and outstanding inclusive 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.