Stillwater Mining Company Reports Occurrences of Smoke in Its Stillwater Mine

BILLINGS, MT -- (Marketwire) -- 10/20/11 -- STILLWATER MINING COMPANY (NYSE: SWC) (TSX: SWC.U) (the 'Company') reported today that it has experienced two recent occurrences of smoke underground at its Stillwater Mine, located near Nye, Montana. Upon discovery of the smoke, in each instance the Company's established mine evacuation procedures were followed. No injuries occurred. The source of the smoke appears to have been related to separate equipment malfunctions. The Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is onsite conducting an investigation of these occurrences. As part of the Company's investigation, the affected equipment, and all similar types of equipment, have been removed from service for inspection. This equipment will be placed back into operation on a staged basis as inspections are completed and the equipment is deemed safe.

About Stillwater Mining Company

Stillwater Mining Company is the only U.S. producer of palladium and platinum and is the largest primary producer of platinum group metals outside of South Africa and the Russian Federation. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWC and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SWC.U. Information on Stillwater Mining can be found at its Web site: www.stillwatermining.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements may contain words such as 'desires,' 'believes,' 'anticipates,' 'plans,' 'expects,' 'intends,' 'estimates' or similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of the Company's future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause its actual performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, comments regarding whether the Company will offer the Notes or consummate the sale of the Notes, the resource potential of undeveloped mining areas, the timing and cost of future development efforts and the Company's potential future growth profile. Additional information regarding factors that could cause results to differ materially from management's expectations is found in the section entitled 'Risk Factors' in the Company's 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. Investors are cautioned not to rely on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements.