SPOKANE, Wash., Aug. 18, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Minera Andes Inc. (TSX-V:MAI) (OTCBB:MNEAF) -- Metallurgical testing has achieved higher recoveries of gold and silver from underground samples of mineralized material at Minera Andes Inc.'s Huevos Verdes gold/silver vein. The vein under development is part of the San Jose project located in southern Argentina. The recoveries of high-grade gold and silver from the latest round of tests are higher than recoveries reported from a series of tests on drill samples reported by Minera Andes in 2003.
The objectives of the metallurgical program are to lower capital and operating costs, increase metal recoveries, and minimize environmental impact and decrease time to production. In the latest ongoing metallurgical tests in which industry standard extraction methods were used, preliminary results show that recovery of gold from high-grade underground sampling was 96 percent for both flotation and chemical leaching technologies. Silver recoveries ranged from 93 per cent (chemical leaching) to 95.7 percent (flotation). In a previous round of tests on drill samples reported by Minera Andes February 11, 2003 (News Release 03-03), recoveries using the same technologies were 94 percent for gold and 92.1 percent for silver.
Allen V. Ambrose, president of Minera Andes, said, "As a high-grade gold/silver vein, with potential to be a low cost mine, the latest test results from underground sampling at Huevos Verdes have important implications for production because they may further lower costs and make a more efficient mine."
Five types of mineralized material were selected for testing from underground workings at Huevos Verdes, where planned underground construction work of tunnels and other infrastructure is being accelerated in order to complete a 3,500-meter work program around the end of 2004. A feasibility study, also planned for completion near the end of the year, is underway for the Huevos Verdes project.
The testing, which is continuing on other sample types, was commissioned by Minera Andes' joint venture partner and project co-owner, Mauricio Hochschild & Cia. Ltda. (MHC) of Lima, Peru (MHC, 51 percent ownership; Minera Andes, 49 percent). C.H. Plenge Laboratory in Lima, Peru tested the high grade samples and will also test other samples as underground construction and sampling continue. SGS Lakefield Research in Canada will conduct check work on duplicates of the metallurgical samples, and crushing and grinding tests.
Huevos Verdes is Minera Andes' most advanced project and is located in the San Jose project, a 98,800-acre mining district-size property with about ten other known gold/silver targets at earlier stages of exploration. Currently, four veins totaling about 32 km of strike length have been identified at San Jose. Only 2.2 km of Huevos Verdes has been drill-tested in detail, or less than half of its presently known 5 km of strike length. The mineralization at Huevos Verdes is open at depth and laterally.
Minera Andes is funded with working capital of approximately US$5.3 million, as at June 30, 2004, for its exploration and underground construction programs. Minera Andes is a mining exploration company focused on gold, silver and copper exploration in Argentina where it holds about 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of mineral exploration land and co-owns the advanced stage San Jose/Huevos Verdes gold/silver project now under construction for possible mine production, with a feasibility study underway. Minera Andes has also discovered an enriched copper zone at its Los Azules property, and is acquiring other exploration targets in southern Argentina. The Corporation presently has 70,291,490 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.
Spokane Office Vancouver Office
111 East Magnesium Rd., Suite A 1000-355 Burrard Street
Spokane, WA 99208 USA Vancouver, B.C. V6C 2G8
Phone: (509) 921-7322 Phone: (604) 689-7017;
E-mail: mineraandes@minandes.com (877) 689-7018
E-mail: ircanada@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 in 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 minable.
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