Sterling Mining Vacates Sunshine Mine Lease

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Sterling Mining Company (OTC Bulletin Board: SRLM) announced today its intention to vacate the Sunshine Mine lease due to the Company’s inability to fund ongoing care and maintenance costs at the mine site. The Board of Directors of the Company voted unanimously (with one abstention) to vacate the lease at a board meeting held on Thursday, February 19th.

Sterling Mining Company will finalize vacating the Sunshine Mine on February 24th, 2009, and return control of the mine site back to the owner, Sunshine Precious Metals, Inc., which has agreed to assume responsibility for care, maintenance and security at the mine site.

John Ryan, the Company CEO commented, “This was an extremely difficult decision for the Officers and Board of Directors of Sterling. The Company has been faced with a difficult struggle over the last four to five months of routinely coming up with the funding to continue to provide the most basic services required at the mine. By the end of this month the Company was faced with losing electric power service, having its commercial insurance cancelled, and simply having no remaining funds to pay even the smallest of crews to provide basic security and maintenance at the site. Returning the property to the owner in a manner that preserves the integrity of the mine and prevents damage to the facilities is the only reasonable option at this time.”

The Officers and Directors of the Company would like to thank all of the managers and employees who have worked at the Sunshine Mine over these last several years for their efforts at rehabilitating the property.

Sterling Mining continues to own substantial equipment located at the Sunshine Mine, owns the tailings impoundment facility and its associated equipment, continues to hold important mineral leases proximate to the Sunshine Mine, and holds a substantial portfolio of patented and unpatented mining claims located in the Coeur d’Alene Mining District as well as in Western Montana. Although all of these assets are subject to the claims and secured interests of its creditors, the Company intends to pursue a course of action that will allow it to sell a portion of these assets, negotiate settlement terms with its creditors, and emerge as a going concern. However, it remains highly uncertain as to the Company’s ability to successfully navigate this path. Further announcements of its progress will be forthcoming as warranted.

Changes to the Board of Directors

Effective Wednesday evening on February 18, 2009, David Greenway resigned from Sterling Mining’s Board of Directors and his resignation was accepted by the Board on February 19th.

Negotiations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The Company is in the process of beginning negotiations over a settlement of issues created by violations of the Clean Water Act. Over the period from April, 2007 through November, 2008 the Company exceeded its allowed discharge limits under its existing NPDES permit 185 times. The vast majority of these violations were a result of excess manganese being discharged in the effluent, a problem which was related to pumping the mine and which was eventually corrected. However, on October 9, 2008 the Company also experienced a tailings line casualty which resulted in significant tailings materials being spilled into Big Creek near Kellogg, Idaho. Once the Company begins negotiations it will have thirty days to reach a settlement or the E.P.A. can institute other proceedings against the Company.

About Sterling Mining Company

Sterling Mining is a mineral resource development and exploration company. The Company’s holds a large portfolio of exploration properties in Northern Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene mining district. Shares of Sterling Mining Company trade on the OTCBB under the symbol “SLRM”, and also on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “SMX”.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, visit the Company’s website at www.SterlingMining.com or contact:

    Sterling Mining Company

    John Ryan, Chief Executive Officer
    Tel: (404) 418-6203

    Monique Hayes, Marketing/Communications
    Tel: (208) 666-4070 xt. 301

To receive Sterling news via email, please email mhayes@sterlingmining.com and specify “SRLM news” in the subject line.

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STATEMENTS CONTAINING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION INVOLVE KNOWN AND UNKNOWN RISKS, UNCERTAINTIES AND OTHER FACTORS THAT MAY CAUSE THE ACTUAL RESULTS, LEVEL OF ACTIVITY, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE COMPANY’S SILVER AND ITS OPERATIONS TO BE MATERIALLY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED BY SUCH STATEMENTS. SUCH FACTORS INCLUDE, AMONG OTHERS, RISKS RELATED TO TECHNOLOGICAL AND OPERATIONAL NATURE OF THE COMPANY’S BUSINESS, CHANGES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION, TAXATION OR THE POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT, THE ACTUAL RESULTS OF CURRENT EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES, CONCLUSIONS OF ECONOMIC EVALUATIONS, CHANGES IN PROJECT PARAMETERS TO DEAL WITH UNANTICIPATED ECONOMIC FACTORS, FUTURE PRICES OF SILVER, GOLD AND BASE METALS, INCREASED COMPETITION IN THE MINING INDUSTRY FOR PROPERTIES, EQUIPMENT, QUALIFIED PERSONNEL, AND THEIR RISING COSTS, UNPREDICTABLE RISKS AND HAZARDS RELATING TO THE OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF OUR MINES OR PROPERTIES, THE SPECULATIVE NATURE OF EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT, FLUCTUATIONS IN THE PRICE FOR NATURAL GAS, FUEL OIL AND OTHER KEY SUPPLIES, AS WELL AS THOSE FACTORS DESCRIBED IN THE SECTION ["RISK RELATED TO THE COMPANY'S BUSINESS"] CONTAINED IN THE COMPANY’S MOST RECENT [FORM 40F/ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM] FILED WITH THE SEC AND CANADIAN PROVINCIAL SECURITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITIES. ALTHOUGH THE COMPANY HAS ATTEMPTED TO IDENTIFY IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE CONTAINED IN FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, THERE MAY BE OTHER FACTORS THAT CAUSE RESULTS TO BE MATERIALLY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED, DESCRIBED, ESTIMATED, ASSESSED OR INTENDED. THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT ANY STATEMENTS CONTAINING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION WILL PROVE TO BE ACCURATE AS ACTUAL RESULTS AND FUTURE EVENTS COULD DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED IN SUCH STATEMENTS. ACCORDINGLY, READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE RELIANCE ON STATEMENTS CONTAINING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION.

SOURCE Sterling Mining Company