HOUSTON LAKE MINING INC.

(HLM-TSX.V)

PRESS RELEASE

Agnico-Eagle Drills Houston Lake's Tib PGM Project

October 31, 2002: Sudbury, Ontario - Houston Lake Mining Inc. (TSX.V:HLM, "Houston Lake") is pleased to announce details of the drilling program on the 1632 hectare (4030 acre) Tib Lake property which is located in the Thunder Bay Mining District of NW Ontario.  Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (TSE:AGE, NYSE:AEM “Agnico-Eagle”) of Toronto, Ontario has committed to drill a 10 hole 1500 metre (4920 foot) program which is expected to begin on Monday, November 4, 2002.

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.  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.  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, is a prime target for palladium-platinum-gold (PGE) exploration. The Tib Lake property covers 6.5 km (3.9 mile) in strike length and over 80 percent of the Lower Zone of the Tib Lake gabbro.  The Lower Zone encompasses all known PGE (palladium-platinum-gold) occurrences on the property. 

An initial $500,000 two phase program was planned for the current year.  Phase 1 of the current program has been completed as of October 7, 2002 and involved geological and detailed mapping, soil sampling, trenching and stripping, channel sampling and reinterpretation of previous geophysical surveys (magnetics and IP).  Preliminary evaluation indicates that the more mafic to ultramafic rock units such as peridotite are important hosts to the PGE mineralization.  

The 10 hole, 1500 metre (4920 foot) Phase 2 diamond drilling program targets the two main PGE occurrences on the property: the Kuhner Zone and the West Dog Occurrence.  Eight drill holes will probe depth and strike extensions of the Kuhner Zone which is located in the south-central portions of the property.  Stripping has exposed gabbro-norite and pyroxenite gabbro with local peridotite bodies.  Sulphide (chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite) disseminations and blebs are more common proximal to the peridotite bodies.  Previous drilling intersected 18.47 metres (60.6 feet) of core length grading 1.68 g/t PGE’s at an average depth of 35 metres (100 feet) and 22 metres (72.2 feet) of core length grading 1.456 g/t PGE’s at an average depth of 65 metres (213.2 feet) under the Kuhner Occurrence.  The remaining two drill holes will test the West Dog Occurrence which  is also found in the south-central portions of the property.  Here, the geology mainly consists of gabbro-norite and peridotite.  Grab samples from the West Dog peridotite have returned values up to 1.6 g/t PGE’s.  The drill campaign is expected to be concluded by mid-December and results will be made available upon conclusion of the program.  

Under the Tib Lake Option Agreement Agnico-Eagle has the right to earn a 50 percent interest by making cash payments of $650,000 and expending $3.6 million over four years. The property interest has an underlying 2.5 percent NSR.  The companies would form a 50/50 partnership upon earn in of the option interest.  Agnico-Eagle would have the right to earn an additional 10 percent upon delivering a positive bankable feasibility study and is the operator.  Both parties are protected from dilution past a 30 percent interest level.  Agnico Eagle has made cash payments of $100,000 and is in the process of completing the $500,000 exploration program as required in the first year of the Tib Lake option agreement.  Agnico Eagle has the right to accelerate the four year option schedule.  

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 15,400,695 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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