SPOKANE, Wash., May 1, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Minera Andes Inc. (TSX Venture Exchange:MAI) (OTCBB:MNEAF) (the "Corporation") has received a US$200,000 semi-annual payment as part of the exploration/operating agreement for Minera Andes' San Jose gold/silver pre-development project in southern Argentina.
The Corporation's joint venture partner, Mauricio Hochschild & Cia. Ltda. ("MHC") of Lima, Peru, has also exercised its third-year option under terms of the 2001 agreement with Minera Andes, and continues with gold/silver exploration and construction work at the San Jose project. San Jose is comprised of a 40,000-hectare (98,800 acres) land package where the most advanced target, the Huevos Verdes high-grade gold/silver vein system, is entering the construction phase. The objective at Huevos Verdes is to define a mineable gold/silver ore reserve, and then consider a mine development/production decision.
Construction plans include sinking two 45-degree-inclined shafts at Huevos Verdes, and exploration workings on two levels of the main Huevos Verdes vein. This will allow drilling and exploration for ore reserve definition of the main Huevos Verdes vein.
MHC is earning a 51 percent ownership in the San Jose land package under terms of the joint venture agreement. Main terms of the agreement include spending US$3 million by MHC over three years to earn the 51 percent ownership; the expenditure of a minimum US$100,000 on targets other than Huevos Verdes within the land package; and semi-annual payments to Minera Andes totaling US$400,000 per year.
Huevos Verdes, and the adjacent Saavedra West target have an initial, independently estimated, combined, indicated and inferred resource of 922,000 ounces of gold equivalent, or 55.4 million silver equivalent ounces. (Gold and silver equivalent ounces are based on US$300 gold and US$5.00 silver prices, or a 1:60 gold/silver ratio, which does not take into account differences in metal recovery.) Based on a cutoff grade of 50 g/t silver, the indicated resource for both areas combined equates to 12,800,000 ounces of silver and 126,000 ounces of gold, and the inferred resource, 22,000,000 ounces of silver and 216,000 ounces of gold.
The resource has been estimated on 2.2 kilometers of the known 5 kilometers of strike length for the Huevos Verdes vein. The various vein structure trends -- including Huevos Verdes -- within the San Jose land package optioned to MHC total 32 kilometers.
Minera Andes is a mining exploration corporation that controls approximately 10 projects on about 198,140 hectares (489,406 acres) of mineral exploration land in Argentina. Most of the properties are located in the Andean cordillera and primarily contain gold, silver and copper mineralization targets. The Corporation is presently pursuing the further development of its gold/silver discovery property in Santa Cruz province, and is prospecting in other Argentine provinces. The Corporation presently has 37,009,197 issued and outstanding shares.
For further information, please contact: Art Johnson, at the Spokane office, or Krister A. Kottmeier, investor relations-Canada, at the Vancouver office. Visit our Web site: www.minandes.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT: Although Minera Andes believes many of its properties have promising potential, its properties are in the early stages of exploration. None have yet been shown to contain proven or probable mineral reserves. There can be no assurance that such reserves will be identified on any property, or that, if identified, mineralization may be economically extracted. In addition, Minera Andes' joint venture partner, Mauricio Hochschild & Cia. Ltda., does not accept responsibility for the use of project data or the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
CAUTIONARY NOTE TO U.S. INVESTORS CONCERNING ESTIMATES OF INFERRED RESOURCES:
This news release uses the term "Inferred Resources." We advise U.S. investors that while this term is recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the SEC does not recognize it. "Inferred Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an "Inferred Resource" will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules estimates of "Inferred Resources" may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that part or all of an "Inferred Resource" exists, or is economically or legally mineable.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.