www.centredaily.com Posted on Mon, Feb. 10, 2003 BY FAYE FLAM Knight Ridder Newspapers

PHILADELPHIA - KRT NEWSFEATURES

(KRT) - In the near future, individuals may be able to pinpoint which diseases they should worry most about - heart disease, Alzheimer's, stroke, prostate cancer or multiple sclerosis.

The medical crystal ball will be high-tech, inexpensive, personal genetic testing, which could be available in just five to 10 years, according to some medical researchers.

"This will create a profound revolution in medicine," predicts Leroy Hood, a molecular biologist at the University of Washington. "Medicine will become predictive, preventive and personalized."

Hood and other scientists gathered last month in Los Angeles at a seminar focused on the increasing power of genetic testing.

Such testing will offer more than just a window on your future demise, Hood said. The same technology that exposes your personal health demons could also provide strategies to battle them - new drugs to "overcome the limitations of your genes."

The seminar was organized by Gregory Stock, director of the Program on Medicine, Technology and Society at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Stock said he believed humanity stood at the dawn of a revolution people would remember for millenniums.

"Genes are the biggest window into who we are, and we are drawing back the curtain," he said. "This will call into question what it means to be a human being."

The seminar was prompted in part by the completion three years ago of the $3 billion public and private undertaking known as the human genome project. The result was a sequence of letters that represented the entire genetic code - the full complement of DNA - for a small sample of people from different ethnic groups.

Hood said he believes that in a few years many people will have their own complement of DNA sequenced and stored on a floppy disc for less than $1,000.

The genome project didn't sort out which genes had any bearing on health or illness, but such work is under way.

Scientists are looking for what they call polymorphisms - places where the genetic code differs from person to person. Some of these differences have no apparent effect while others influence people's vulnerability to disease.

Some of the latest findings have come from Iceland, where Keri Stefansson of the private company DeCode has undertaken to analyze the DNA of the 275,000 residents of his country. So far, about 70,000 people have been analyzed.

Because Icelanders keep detailed genealogy and medical records, Stefansson said, he has been able to trace patterns of disease in families and then search the DNA for genetic differences that might be responsible. In one family, he said, there were cases of a variety of cancers - melanoma, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer and breast cancer - all, he said, related to some genetic quirk present in that family.

He has also isolated a genetic variant that appears in about a third of Icelanders with schizophrenia. The gene, he said, helps in the remodeling and growth of neurons in the brain. The finding, he said, may help scientists understand what causes schizophrenia and perhaps lead to new treatments.

But some people may not want to know their own genetic heritage in too much gory detail.

"You're going to get a lot of information, why you get frequent colds, whether you'll get cancer or ALS or Alzheimer's disease, why you're a pain in the neck," said Nancy Wexler, a medical researcher from Columbia University. "All of these have genetic components."

The knowledge gained from genetic tests, she said, "is going to affect the rest of your life."

Wexler knows firsthand about contemplating such tests, she said, because she learned when she was in her 20s that her mother was ill with Huntington's disease, an incurable neurological disorder that strikes people around their 40s and leads to a slow, horrific death. Wexler's father told her and her sister that each of them had a 50-50 chance of inheriting their mother's fatal genetic disorder.

Wexler, 57, is probably safe, since she is past the age that most people with the disorder develop serious symptoms.

As a medical researcher, she went to Venezuela to study families in which the disease was particularly rampant, and eventually helped to isolate the genetic flaw, making it possible to test people for Huntington's disease.

But most people who live with those 50-50 odds opt not to take the test, she said, preferring to go on in uncertainty. She read some quotations from people who had the test and got bad news. "It was like a loss, a loss of dreams," one read.

As other tests come along to assess risk for other fatal and possibly incurable diseases, she said, people have to keep in mind that the knowledge is irreversible - you can't ever go back.

There may be other cases, however, where advance knowledge can save your life. Icelandic researcher Stefansson said his analyses uncovered a gene that influences whether people develop pulmonary obstructive disease (chronic bronchitis and emphysema). The disease is almost inevitable if people with the genetic variant are smokers. But if they don't smoke, they will almost certainly not get the disease.

Stefansson said he anticipated most of the genetic tests that would become popular would involve preventable diseases. That way doctors will no longer give everyone the same advice - don't smoke, drink in moderation, avoid saturated and hydrogenated fats, exercise.

Instead, he said, doctors will be able to pinpoint which parts of the standard medical mantra will be particularly important for each patient.

Hood said he foresaw the ability to isolate genes that influence behavior - including variants that make people prone to behave violently or otherwise inappropriately.

"I think inappropriate behavior will have to be treated the same way we treat cardiovascular disease or cancer," he said. "But this opens up fascinating questions about what is normal and what is abnormal."

www.boston.com

CARACAS - President Hugo Chavez threatened yesterday to jail the thousands of oil workers fired for leading a two-month strike against him. ''Fired is nothing! Many of them should go to prison for sabotaging the Venezuelan economy,'' Chavez said of the more than 9,000 workers dismissed from the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. Chavez's threat came one day after more than 100,000 Chavez opponents protested in Caracas in support of the fired oil workers. Thousands more held a similar protest yesterday in the state of Carabobo, 66 miles west of the capital. The nationwide strike was called Dec. 2 to demand Chavez's resignation or early elections. But its leaders - business groups, labor unions, and leftist and conservative politicians - agreed to end the protest last week in all areas but the crucial oil industry. (AP)

www.boston.com WASHINGTON - The United States yesterday returned a Cuban patrol boat used by four members of the island's coast guard to defect, the US State Department said. Cuba had demanded the United States send back the boat and the crew, who slipped in to the Florida resort town of Key West Friday, docking at a hotel marina and turning themselves in to police. It was not immediately clear whether the men, who had handguns and rifles when they reached Florida, remained in the United States. Under a provision for migrants, Cubans who make it to US soil are usually allowed to stay and are released into the community within days. The boat's return contrasted with the last such incident, when a state-owned plane used by defectors was kept. State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said several federal agencies, including the State Department, Justice Department, and Coast Guard, coordinated yesterday's return. He had no comment on the status of the crew. (Reuters)

www.vheadline.com Posted: Monday, February 10, 2003 - 10:51:37 AM By: Press Releases BW0059  FEB 10,2003       5:02 PACIFIC      08:02 EASTERN ( BW)(ID-HECLA-MINING)(HL)

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho-- Feb. 10, 2003--Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) produced a record amount of gold and silver during 2002 at very low costs of production. Hecla mined 240,000 ounces of gold in 2002. The La Camorra gold mine in Venezuela was Hecla's primary gold producer, contributing 167,000 ounces of gold in 2002. This is the largest annual gold production in the company's 112-year history.

Hecla also produced a record amount of silver, mining approximately 8.7 million ounces during 2002. Silver production came from Hecla's San Sebastian mine, which produced more than 3.4 million ounces, the Greens Creek mine in Alaska, at more than 3.2 million ounces, and the Lucky Friday mine in northern Idaho, producing 2 million ounces of silver. Hecla's news release containing complete operating and financial results for 2002 is scheduled for release tomorrow, February 11.

The company estimates that production in 2003 will be approximately 215,000 ounces of gold and 9 million ounces of silver. Hecla's low-cost profile is expected to be maintained, with total average cash costs in 2003 estimated at $150 per ounce of gold and $2.15 per ounce of silver.

Hecla President and Chief Operating Officer Phillips S. Baker, Jr., said, "2002 was a great year for Hecla. We have some excellent properties that exceeded our expectations for performance and give us a good base for future growth."

EXPLORATION

In addition to an outstanding year operationally, Hecla's exploration programs continue to turn up good results. Baker said, "While more drilling is required, Hecla could have four development/production ramps under construction by year end."

One prospective target is Hecla's Block B project in Venezuela. The Block B lease was acquired by Hecla in September 2002 from the Venezuelan government, and is a seven-square-mile property in an historically rich gold mining district. Hecla is currently focusing on an area adjacent to and below the old Chile mine, which produced more than 550,000 ounces of gold at an average ore grade of more than one ounce of gold per ton. The Chile mine was shut down near the end of World War II due to war events and technical difficulties which are no longer an issue. Hecla began drilling on the property in the fourth quarter of 2002 and initial assays are extremely encouraging. More than 4,000 meters of exploration drilling were completed during the fourth quarter at Block B.

Hecla's drilling program on Block B is aimed at confirming and expanding a resource previously identified by CVG-Minerven, the Venezuelan government-owned mining company. That resource was estimated to have an average grade of about 0.63 ounce of gold per ton. Baker said, "Our preliminary efforts at Block B have confirmed the previously identified resource, and we have decided to proceed with a feasibility study and further drilling to expand the resource into a mineable property. The timetable for Block B, if all goes well, could be to have it in commercial production in about 24 to 30 months. This new mine would greatly supplement our gold production in Venezuela."

Exploration work also continues on the Betzy vein at Hecla's La Camorra gold mine in Venezuela, about 70 miles south of the Block B property. La Camorra produced 167,000 ounces of gold for Hecla in 2002, and continues to be the company's largest revenue producer. Underground drilling between the -425 and -500 meter elevation levels on the Betzy vein has increased the estimated strike length on the east flank of the Betzy ore shoot from 150 meters to over 200 meters, into an area previously thought to be waste. "These encouraging high-grade results could lead to an expanded life for the mine," said Baker. "La Camorra is a narrow vein, underground hardrock mine, which is exactly Hecla's area of expertise. We have been able to replace the reserves that we've mined in the past, and these results from our latest exploration efforts indicate that we should be able to continue to find reserves at a deeper level."

Recent drilling on the Betzy vein returned assay results including 1 ounce of gold per ton over 2.6 meters, 0.76 ounce of gold per ton over 2 meters and 3.27 ounces of gold per ton over 2 meters.

Hecla has also been focusing attention on the Canaima property, located 9 kilometers northeast of the main La Camorra mine in Venezuela, where an inferred resource of 400,000 tons at a grade of  0.55 ounce of gold per ton was earlier identified based on drilling by Monarch Resources. Hecla is conducting a combination of hydrologic and geotechnical studies, as well as a drilling program to confirm the previous resource information. Initial drilling results have confirmed and possibly upgraded the original multi-vein resource estimate. (see table)

*T                                   Horizontal     Gold  Hole            From       To      Width        Assay Number         (meters)  (meters)  (meters) (grams/tonne)  Vein

SC-56            50.65     52.06     1.44        12.45      HW1 SC-56           124.30    125.70     1.31        79.93       MU SC-56           131.77    137.83     6.36        56.81       ML SC-57            77.60     78.45     0.77        42.66      HW2 SC-57           116.70    119.65     2.77         2.38       MU SC-57           127.12    130.50     2.82       138.50       ML SC-58           147.74    156.94     7.58        17.62       MU SC-58           162.90    169.10     5.69        24.12       ML                 SC-59        lost hole SC-60            76.50     80.35     3.15        13.18      HW1 SC-60           154.50    155.05     0.47         1.04       MU SC-60           160.25    161.60     1.37         9.26       ML *T

Baker said, "We are very pleased with the high-grade results at Canaima, with assays coming in even better than expected. A feasibility study for Canaima is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year. This property could very well be the next addition to our Venezuelan production within the next 18 to 24 months."

Baker also said, "Due to excellent exploration results on several fronts, Hecla increased its exploration expenditures in the fourth quarter of 2002 to nearly $3 million. As progress warrants, we could easily see continuing to make those kinds of expenditures throughout 2003. With this significantly increased exploration program, our intent over the next couple of years is to not only replace ore we have mined out during the year, but also to increase reserves and expand Hecla's production capacity."

In Mexico, an aggressive drilling program during the fourth quarter on the Don Sergio vein on the Cerro Pedernalillo project sets the stage for the 2003 drilling program and feasibility study for ramp development. Cerro Pedernalillo is located about 6 kilometers south of Hecla's San Sebastian silver mine. Baker said, "This whole area holds tremendous promise for future discovery. We have a lot of ground to cover, but hope to discover additional mineable resources here."

Hecla Mining Company, headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, mines and processes silver and gold in the United States, Venezuela and Mexico. A 112-year-old company, Hecla has long been well known in the mining world and financial markets as a quality silver and gold producer. Hecla's common and preferred shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols HL and HL-PrB.

Statements made which are not historical facts, such as anticipated payments, litigation outcome, production, sales of assets, exploration results and plans, costs, prices or sales performance are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, expected or implied. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, metals price volatility, volatility of metals production, exploration risks and results, project development risks and ability to raise financing. Refer to the company's Form 10-Q and 10-K reports for a more detailed discussion of factors that may impact expected future results. The company undertakes no obligation and has no intention of updating forward-looking statements.

Cautionary Note to Investors -- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms in this news release, such as "resource" and "inferred resources," that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in our filing with the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form S-1, File No. 333-100395. You can review and obtain copies of these filings from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

CONTACT: Hecla Mining Company, Coeur d'Alene              Vicki J. Veltkamp, 208/769-4144              www.hecla-mining.com

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