MAJOR DRAFT FEDERAL AND STATE OF ALASKA ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITS ISSUED FOR KENSINGTON, ALASKA, GOLD PROJECT.

COEUR d'ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 1997--Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE) today announced several milestones signaling the completion of the state and federal permits needed for its major Kensington gold project in Alaska.

The U.S. Forest Service has issued its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for Kensington which in turn facilitated the issuance of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) draft NPDES Permit and Fact Sheet for the project. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued public notice of its Section 404 Public Notice for the project. The City and Borough of Juneau is proceeding with its process to issue its Large Mine Permit, which is the one other major permit for Kensington.

"The issuance of the Draft SEIS, with the additional drafts by other federal agencies, mark a significant milestone in the development of Kensington," said Dennis E. Wheeler, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Coeur. "When we purchased 100 percent of Kensington in 1995, our first major goal was to demonstrate that we could successfully complete permitting for the project. This could not have been accomplished without the diligence of our people and the cooperative efforts of the federal and Alaska state agencies involved to move this to completion."

The draft SEIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts associated with Kensington and forms the basis for the Forest Service approval of the plan of operations for the mine. The SEIS also evaluates environmental impacts from treated waste water discharges at the mine which is of assistance to the Environmental Protection Agency in its NPDES permit proceedings.

Following a 45 day comment period, the Forest Service, EPA and the Corps of Engineers will evaluate the comments and consider whether any changes in the draft permits are warranted. Thereafter, the agencies will issue the permits in final form.

It is expected that the final permits will be consistent with the draft permits, and the company believes it is able to comply with them.

Coeur plans to reach a decision on developing the mine after the completion of permitting and a feasibility study update.

Kensington is a major gold project which has an 18-month construction timeframe, and it is anticipated to produce an average of 200,000 ounces of gold annually for approximately 10 years based upon current reserves of 1.9 million ounces.

-0-

The above forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including those relating to estimated production data, expected operating schedules, and other operating data. A full discussion of these and other factors are made in Coeur's 10-K, 10-Q and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

CONTACT: Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp.

Anthony R. Ebersole, 208/667-3511