HOUSTON LAKE MINING INC.

(HLM-TSX.V)

PRESS RELEASE

Positive Recommendations for Houston Lake’s Tib PGM Project

March 17, 2003: Sudbury, Ontario - Houston Lake Mining Inc. (TSX.V:HLM, "Houston Lake") is pleased to report on Dr. Walter Peredery’s review of recent exploration on the Company’s 100 percent-owned Tib PGM project. The 1632 hectare (4030 acre) Tib Lake property is located in the Thunder Bay Mining District of northwestern Ontario. A program of detailed geophysics (magnetic), MMI soil surveys and diamond drilling is recommended for the Tib PGM project.

The Tib Lake property is located in the Lac Des Iles area just 15 km. (9 miles) from the Lac Des Iles mine of North American Palladium Ltd. ("PDL"). At December 31, 2001, the total proven and probable reserves, and measured and indicated resources at the Lac Des Iles mine had increased to 159 million tonnes averaging 1.55 grams of palladium per tonne containing 8.0 million ounces of palladium. Recent exploration by PDL has identified a potential underground resource at the LDI mine. The Tib Lake gabbro, with a surface exposure of some 25 square km. (10 square miles), is the second largest intrusion of the Lac Des Iles suite of rocks and, as such, remains a prime target for palladium-platinum-gold (PGE) exploration.

Because of his 35 years of experience with Inco Ltd., his expertise in nickel-copper-PGM systems and his familiarity with the Tib Lake property Dr. Peredery was contracted by Houston Lake to review recent exploration, to draw conclusions and to make recommendations for future work on the project. Several key conclusions of the Peredery report are as follows:

"Sulphide mineralization associated with ultramafic rocks (peridotite, websterite, pyroxenite) has been recognized as a primary magmatic source of PGE’s (platinum-palladium-gold). Background values of 15-20 ppb PGE’s for peridotite are certainly anomalous by comparison to the average for world-wide peridotites (5ppb PGE’s)."

"Such ultramafic rocks have been interpreted as being derived from depth. An equally good interpretation is that they represent disrupted layers in situ."

"Humus soil sampling produced relatively few PGE anomalies, but most of the samples give anomalous base metals values. These data have to be evaluated considering that the terrain has been disturbed by lumbering industry and forest fires."

"Drilling in the Kuhner area established that the mineralized system is much larger than was thought to be previously. The mineralizing system as it is defined by drilling is at least 100m in diameter. It is open to the west or northwest, and to the east or southeast."

Dr. Peredery recommends several methods to identify ultramafic units which have continuities in a number of instances of over 100m: detailed magnetic geophysical surveys as a cost effective way to locate the highly magnetic, PGE-bearing ultramafic layers and MMI soil surveys to target PGE mineralization in the vicinity of the Kuhner Occurrence. Specific drill holes are recommended to undercut the Year 2000 drilling intercepts of Houston Lake at the Kuhner, extend recently drilled fences to encompass the strike extensions of the Kuhner Zone, to understand the new mineralization encountered to the South of the Kuhner and to better evaluate the West Shore Showing (West Dog Occurrence). A formal report incorporating Dr. Peredery’s observations and recommendations is currently being prepared. Houston Lake will be seeking a financing or, alternatively, a partner to advance the Tib PGM project upon completion of the report.

Houston Lake is actively exploring for Gold, Rare Metals, and Platinum Group Metals with a strategic focus on northwestern Ontario. Houston Lake Mining Inc. has a total of 15,803,195 common shares issued and outstanding. The common shares of Houston Lake Mining Inc. trade through the facilities of the TSX 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:

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