Cabo awarded contract to drill a minimum 35,000 feet for Rio Grande Silver Inc.

Cabo Drilling Corp.’s U.S. subsidiary Advanced Drilling Inc. has been awarded a contract to drill a minimum of 35,000 feet of surface core drilling on Rio Grande Silver’s San Juan Silver Exploration Project, located north of Creede, Colorado.

The initial phase of drilling is designed to test the north extension of the Bulldog vein system which was mined by Homestake Mining Company from the late 1960’s to the mid 1980’s. The program will require several coring rigs and is designed with the utmost care in relation to the protection of the environment as well as having minimal environmental disturbance. The San Juan Silver Exploration Project has received all approvals from the State and the U.S. Forest Service to begin exploration drilling. The first two drills have been moved to the property, with an additional drill expected in the future.

Rio Grande Silver Inc., acquired the right to earn a 70% joint venture interest in a roughly 25-square-mile consolidated land package in one of Colorado’s most prolific silver producing districts. The venture, called the San Juan Silver Mining Joint Venture, is located in the famous Creede Mining district and has an identified resource of approximately 48 million ounces of silver with potential for considerably more through a targeted exploration program. Rio Grande Silver has joint ventured this project with Emerald Mining & Leasing, LLC, and Golden 8 Mining, LLC (See Hecla’s news release dated February 21, 2008).

About Rio Grande Silver Inc. / Hecla Mining Company

Rio Grande Silver Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hecla Mining Company. Hecla Mining Company, headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, mines, processes and explores for silver and gold in the United States and Mexico. A 117-year-old company, Hecla has long been well known in the mining world and financial markets as a quality producer of silver and gold. Hecla’s common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HL.

About Cabo Drilling Corp.

Cabo Drilling Corp. is a drilling services company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Company provides mining related and specialty drilling services through its Canadian divisions in Surrey, British Columbia; Montreal, Quebec; Kirkland Lake, Ontario; and Springdale, Newfoundland; as well as Cabo Drilling de Mexico S.A. de C.V. of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico; Cabo Drilling (Panama) Corp. of Panama, Republic of Panama; and Cabo Drilling Spain S.L. of Sevilla, Spain. The Company’s common shares trade on the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol: DHL and on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol: CBE.