HOUSTON LAKE MINING INC.

(HLM-TSX.V)

PRESS RELEASE

Houston Lake Advances West Cedartree Gold Project

May 9, 2003: Sudbury, Ontario - Houston Lake Mining Inc. (TSX.V:HLM, "Houston Lake") is pleased to report that the Company has completed line-cutting and geophysical surveys on the West Cedartree Gold Project located near Sioux Narrows in the Kenora Mining District of Ontario. Geological mapping, mechanized stripping and channel sampling programs will commence in the next several weeks.

The Company now owns or has under 100 percent option a total of 603.6 hectares (1490.9 acres) over four properties in the West Cedartree Lake area. The property is accessed by an all-weather gravel road which traverses the northern portions of the project area before connecting with the Cameron Lake mine of Nuinsco Resources Limited (NWI:TSX). Houston Lake’s land package covers a 2.6 km. (1.56 miles) strike of the rocks hosting the gold-bearing shear zones. The East Cedartree project adjoins Metalore’s (MET:TSX) new discovery where drilling last fall encountered "significant results over significant widths in seventeen drill holes".

Approximately 68km (40.8 miles) of line-cutting and geophysical surveys (magnetic and VLF-EM) have just been completed by Lashex Ltd. on the project. The most prominent direction of the EM conductors is to the NNE and parallel to the major lithologic contacts and major faulting trend. A strong EM conductor is traceable for over 2.6 km (1.56 miles) and corresponds to the gabbro sill/mafic volcanic contact containing the McLennan Gold Zone. A second parallel conductor is traceable for over 400m. (over 1300 feet) southward from the vicinity of the New Gold Zone. The trace of the second conductor is lost in an area where four strong conductors trend NNW. The NNW trending conductors vary from 500 to 1100 meters (1640 to 3600 feet) in strike length.

In the past exploration has focused on the McLennan Shear Zone ("MSZ") at the northerly-striking contact of mafic volcanics with a large gabbro body. "Drilling carried out by Noranda Mines in 1944-45 encountered significant gold-bearing intersections over a strike length of 280m. (918 ft.). Typical intersections along the shear zone and off shoot shears are: 0.20 oz/t Au over 1.2 ft., 0.53 oz/t Au over 18.0 ft., 0.25 oz/t Au over 3.0 ft., 0.55 oz/t Au over 1.5 ft., 1.35 oz/t Au over 3.5 ft." (Dr. K. Germundsen, P. Geo., Internal Company Report, 2002).

In 1997 a new 10 to 20 metre wide shear zone ("NSZ") was identified internal to the gabbro and had a strike length in excess of 800 metres (2,624 feet). Trenching and stripping was carried out earlier this past summer. Over 100 metres (328 feet) of the NSZ was exposed along strike and the NSZ remains open in both directions. Channel sampling tested a 70 metre strike length of the newly exposed zone and confirmed earlier high grade gold grab sample results obtained in 1997. Sixty channel samples were taken in the vicinity of the NSZ and returned results that varied from trace to 47.1 g/t Au (1.374 oz/t Au) and averaged 1.88 g/t Au (0.055 oz/t Au). The table below illustrates the three completed channels that were taken perpendicular to the strike of the NSZ from north to south over the stripped area: Channel 1 at 5m. (16.4 ft.), Channel 2 at 17.5m. (57.4 ft.), and Channel 3 at 75m. (246.0 ft.).

Table 1. New Shear Zone ("NSZ") Channel Sampling Results

The planned exploration program will seek to extend the gold-bearing zones along strike into the southern portions of the project area and to evaluate several gold showings noted on government maps. Prospecting will evaluate all bedrock conductors.

Houston Lake is actively exploring for Gold, Platinum Group Metals and Rare Metals with a strategic focus on northwestern Ontario. The Company has a total of 15,828,195 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.

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