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Hudbay Minerals Inc. Confirms Planned Temporary Maintenance Shutdowns

January 17, 2006

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA--(CCNMatthews - Jan. 17, 2006) - HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX:HBM) (HudBay) confirms its wholly owned subsidiary, Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Limited (HBMS), has finalized scheduling and plans to proceed with the previously announced planned temporary maintenance shutdown of its Flin Flon copper smelter during the second quarter of 2006.

The planned 28-day copper smelter maintenance shutdown is primarily to rebuild the reverberatory furnace, which is used to smelt copper and is rebuilt regularly.

The impact on annual sales will be, in part, mitigated by management of copper anode inventory between the copper smelter in Flin Flon, Manitoba and the recently acquired copper refinery in White Pine, Michigan, which produces copper cathode.

Similarly, during the second quarter of 2006, a routine planned 10-day annual maintenance shut down of the Flin Flon zinc plant, will be undertaken for oxygen plant, autoclave, thickener and cell house maintenance.

There will be no impact on annualized zinc metal production as a result of the maintenance programs. HBMS' mines, concentrators and other process plants will continue to operate during the planned shutdowns.

"The record five year period since our last copper smelter reverberatory furnace rebuild is almost double our expectation and it is a noteworthy achievement by our operations personnel," said Peter R. Jones, President and CEO of HudBay. "Both the zinc plant and copper smelter planned shutdowns have undergone extensive planning, which gives us confidence that safety and productivity goals will be achieved.

About HudBay Minerals Inc.

HudBay Minerals Inc. is an integrated mining and metal producing company that operates mines and concentrators in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan and a metal processing complex in Flin Flon, Manitoba. The company also operates a zinc oxide production facility in Brampton, Ontario and owns the former producing Balmat zinc mine in New York State, which is being reopened.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain information regarding HudBay set forth in this document, including management's assessment of HudBay s future plans and operations contains forward looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond HudBay s and management's control, including but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, fluctuation of commodity prices, risks related to the integration of acquisitions, fluctuation of foreign exchange rates, imperfection of reserve estimates, environmental risks, industry competition, availability of qualified personnel and management, timely and cost effective access to sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and, additionally, factors related to temporary maintenance shutdowns, the supply of parts, equipment and contract personnel and the discovery of repair work that may be considered necessary only when equipment at plant has been dismantled. HudBay's actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by, these forward looking statements and accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated to occur or transpire from the forward looking statements will provide any benefits to HudBay.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

HudBay Minerals Inc.
Tom Goodman
Vice President, Human Resources and Technical Services
(204) 687-2380
(204) 942-8177 (FAX)
tom.goodman@hbms.ca
www.hudbayminerals.com

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