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HOUSTON LAKE MINING INC. (HLM-CDNX)
PRESS RELEASE
Financing
Extended for Tantalum Properties,
March 21, 2002: Sudbury, Ontario - Houston Lake Mining Inc. (CDNX:HLM, "Houston Lake") is pleased to announce that the Company has received approval from the Corporate Finance Department of The Canadian Venture Exchange ("CDNX") for a one month extension of the financing dated September 19, 2001 to April 19, 2002 on the same terms and conditions as previously announced. The financing targets the Pakeagama Lake and Ghost Lake rare metals properties. Houston Lake has applied to the CDNX for a one year extension for warrants due April 3, 2002 and May 25, 2002. The Company has issued 25,000 common shares and applied enough work on the Pakeagama Lake Northwest Property to complete the third and final 100 percent earn in of the Company’s acquisitions in the Pakeagama Lake area. The Company has reserved for issuance 600,000 Units at a price of $0.50. Each Unit consists of one (1) flow-through common share and one half (˝) purchase warrant. One full purchase warrant can be exercised at $0.60 for a period of one year. The Offering has a hold period of one year in Ontario and is contingent on regulatory approval. The financing utilizes Super Flow-through Shares which yield a tax write-off in excess of 100% of the investment. For instance, an investor at a top marginal tax rate in Ontario would incur an after tax cost of $0.215 per share. The financing was originally intended for the Tib Lake Palladium project. However, with the subsequent announcements concerning the Letter of Intent and finalization of the Tib Lake Option Agreement with Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (TSE:AGE, NYSE:AEM) the financing is aimed at the Pakeagama Lake Rare Metals and Ghost Lake Tantalum Projects. The Pakeagama Lake pegmatite is a recent discovery of the Ontario Geological Survey ("OGS"), a provincial government agency. Preliminary work carried out by the OGS and expanded upon by Houston Lake has determined that the Pakeagama Lake pegmatite is already the second largest complex-type, petalite sub-type in Ontario with a strike length of over 280 metres and a width of up to 125 metres. The rare metals mineralizing system may extend for over 610 metres along strike to the 700 g/t tantalum oxide showing on the shore of Pakeagama Lake. Channel sampling perpendicular to the strike of the Northern Wall Zone of the Pakeagama Lake pegmatite has returned 1.21 percent lithium oxide, 0.53 percent rubidium oxide, 0.10 percent cesium oxide, 222 g/t tantalum oxide, 107.0 g/t niobium oxide, 0.13 percent beryllium oxide, 35.8 g/t thallium, 56 g/t gallium, 8.1 g/t germanium and 120 g/t tin over 11 metres. Channel sampling across the Core Zone yielded 13.9 metres grading 4.62% lithium oxide. $200,000 of the current financing would involve 1000 metres of drilling as recommended by an independent geological consultant. The 464 hectare (1188 acre) Ghost Lake property covers the Boundary Zone which spans over 3.2 km (2.0 miles) of a newly defined extension of the Cat Lake - Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, one of most important domains of rare metal (tantalum) mineralization in the Canadian Shield and host to the world-class Tanco tantalum mine. Significant rare element mineralizing systems with appreciable values of tantalum, cesium, beryllium, rubidium and tin have been previously identified during work conducted by the Ontario Geological Survey ("OGS") over the property. Reported values of the OGS include 186 g/t (0.019%) tantalum oxide and 115 g/t (0.012%) tin (E. Berger, 1990) and 179 g/t (0.018%) tantalum oxide (F. Breaks, 1991). The high concentration and potential of the Ghost Lake property is emphasized by an elevated tantalum to niobium ratio of approximately 3:1 which approaches that of the Company’s Pakeagama Lake tantalum mineralizing system. Pronounced and broad lithium (holmquistite) and boron (tourmaline) anomalies are traceable for over 650 metres (2100 feet) on the Ghost Lake property and have been found elsewhere to be important pathfinders to rare metal (tantalum) mineralization. A $100,000 preliminary exploration program is planned and would involve line-cutting, geophysical surveys and geological mapping and sampling. A recent Globe and Mail article predicts tantalum demand to rise at 10 percent per year through 2005. Warrants in the amount of 61,499 with a exercise price of $0.60 and expiring on April 3, 2002 and May 25, 2002 are under application to the CDNX for a one year extension at the same exercise price. The warrants were attached to the Company’s November 21, 2000 financing which closed last Spring. 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 14,913,695 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. The Canadian Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein. |