July 20, 2000: Sudbury, Ontario - Houston Lake Mining Inc. ("Houston Lake") is pleased to announce that the Company has received a positive response to a proposed $150,000 non-brokered Private Placement. Houston Lake has thus far received commitments of approximately $100,000 and the offering is expected to close in the next several weeks. The Company will issue 375,000 Units at a price of $0.40. Each Unit consists of one (1) flow-through common share and one half (½) purchase warrant. One full purchase warrant can be exercised at $0.50 for a period of eight months. The Offering has a hold period of four months as proscribed by The Canadian Venture Exchange subject to Ontario and Alberta resale restrictions and is contingent on regulatory approval.

The funds are earmarked for a 1000 metre (3280 foot) drill program on Houston Lake’s 100 percent-owned, 1632 hectare (4030 acre) Tib Lake Palladium Property which is located in the Thunder Bay Mining District of northwestern Ontario. The 100 percent property interest is subject to a 2.5 percent Net Smelter Royalty. The Tib Lake property is located just 15 km (9 miles) to the northwest of the Lac Des Iles palladium mine of North American Palladium Ltd. which contains mineable reserves of 74.2 million tones averaging 1.64 g/t palladium and where a $(US)126 million expansion of the mine is currently in progress.

Houston Lake has previously completed exploration programs totaling of 70 km. (44 miles) of line-cutting and magnetic surveys and 40 km. (25 miles) of IP (Induced Polarization) geophysical surveys, geological mapping and trenching and stripping. This work has targeted the prospective Lower Zone of the Tib Lake Palladium Property. Five major IP anomalies have been depicted by the recent surveys.

The proposed program will involve 1000 metres of drilling and will focus on Anomaly 1, a 2.5 km. (1.5 mile) long zone of sulphide mineralization which is coincident several palladium occurrences and a heterogenous gabbro/gabbro breccia rock unit; a similar unit is host to the Roby Zone palladium mineralization at the Lac Des Iles mine. The drilling program will target the vicinity of the Kuhner Occurrence which is located at the eastern extremity of Anomaly 1. Anomaly 1 is open along strike to the east of the Kuhner Occurrence and Houston Lake holds ground for an additional 2 km. (1.2 miles) to the east of the occurrence.

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 (60.6 ft. of 0.05 oz/T PGE’s including 24.5 ft. of 0.08 oz/T PGE’s and including 0.14 oz/T over 7.0 ft.). The profile of the IP anomaly in the vicinity of the Kuhner Occurrence is interpreted as a fine to coarse grained sulphide response that starts at a depth 80 to 100 metres (260 to 320 feet). This interpretation may support the contention that PGE mineralization improves with depth at the Kuhner Occurrence. Drill holes TL-95-09 and TL-99-14 appear to have passed overtop of this IP anomaly at a depth of approximately 30 m. (100 feet). Tenders are currently being prepared for the upcoming drill program and drilling is expected to begin soon after closing of the financing.

Palladium has recently surpassed $(US)700/oz. The Russian news service, Interfax, reported in June that Russia has practically no palladium reserves left. Russia produces nearly two-thirds of the world’s palladium. Palladium is used in catalytic converters for emission control in automobiles.

Houston Lake has granted incentive 260,000 stock options priced at $0.40 to new directors and employees of the Company. Houston Lake Mining Inc. has a total of 12,337,432 common shares issued and outstanding and 13,597,432 common shares on a fully diluted basis exclusive of the proposed financing.

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. 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.