SPOKANE, Wash., Jan. 17, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Minera Andes Inc. (TSX Venture Exchange:MAI) (OTCBB:MNEAF) is pleased to announce that a 11,180 meter core drilling program is planned in early 2005 for Huevos Verdes East, a high-grade silver/gold target, located at the company's San Jose project in southern Argentina. A blind target, discovered through drilling in 2003, Huevos Verdes East is adjacent to our Huevos Verdes high-grade silver/gold project under construction with a bankable feasibility study in progress.
Allen Ambrose, president of Minera Andes said, "The decision by our operating partner to extensively drill the Huevos Verdes East discovery highlights the excellent potential of the San Jose project. This target is geologically very similar to the large vein hosting silver and gold mineralization at the nearby Huevos Verdes vein. Although we consider Huevos Verdes East an early stage project, high-grade results from drilling in 2003 and 2004 confirm our judgment that this area holds potential to increase our developing reserve base and supports our view that the larger San Jose project area has mining district-size potential."
As presently defined, Huevos Verdes East is a 6-kilometer (about 4 mile) long trend characterized by a 3-kilometer (about two mile) geophysical anomaly in the north in an area of basalt cover, with intermittent quartz veining and/or high-grade silver/gold mineralization found in areas not covered by overburden in the south. Only about 5 percent of this six-kilometer-long zone has been drilled.
Prior Drill Programs
Two previously reported core drill programs show Huevos Verdes East to be highly prospective. Eight of nine holes drilled to date intersected high-grade silver and gold for a success rate of about 90 percent, compared to a success rate at the advanced-stage Huevos Verdes target of 60 percent. Like Huevos Verdes, Huevos Verdes East remains open at depth and along strike.
The best drill intercept of three holes intersecting the zone in 2003 reconnaissance drilling averaged 1.57 ounces-per-ton (opt) or 53.75 grams-per-ton (g/t) gold and 50 opt silver (1,711.6 g/t) over 1.04 meters in drill hole SJD-31. The intercept is part of a larger, 12.5 meter (41 feet) interval with multiple zones of high-grade silver/gold mineralization. In 2004, a seven-hole program designed for in-fill and step-out drilling from the three discovery holes, intersected multiple zones of bonanza high-grade gold. The best drill hole, SJD-33, intersected a 0.5 meter interval of 63 g/t gold, and 1,690 g/t silver. Results in the other holes ranged from nil to high-grade gold and silver, with five of six holes reaching the target encountering silver and gold mineralization indicating excellent potential to find additional mineralization. Silver and gold mineralization in quartz veining was identified over 300 meters laterally and 130 meters vertically in the drilling.
Huevos Verdes East 2005 Drill Program
The planned 11,180 meter core drill program will consist of approximately 38 drill holes. The holes will be drilled to further define an area of high-grade silver/gold mineralization that was discovered in the two previous programs. Huevos Verdes East is two kilometers northeast of Minera Andes' Huevos Verdes silver/gold construction project. Numerous surface facilities are in place at Huevos Verdes, as are two shafts. Underground workings and surface buildings are also being constructed at Huevos Verdes. The development site currently has a work force of 160 personnel and a feasibility study is in progress. The San Jose Project is managed by by Minera Santa Cruz, an operating company co-owned by Minera Andes (49%) and its operating partner, Mauricio Hochschild & Cia. Ltda (51%).
Minera Andes is a gold, silver and copper exploration company working in Argentina funded with working capital of about US$1.2 million and a pending credit facility of up to US$3 million for feasibility completion and underground construction at its advanced-stage silver/gold project in Santa Cruz province. Minera Andes holds about 500,000 acres of mineral exploration land in Argentina, including the co-owned Huevos Verdes/San Jose silver/gold project now under construction and feasibility consideration for possible mine production. 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 71,609,306 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 410 -- 744 West Georgia Street
Spokane, WA 99208 USA Vancouver, B.C. V6C 1A5
Phone: (509) 921-7322 Phone: (604) 689-7017;
877-689-7018
E-mail: mineraandes@minandes.com 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. There can be no assurance that the San Jose/Huevos Verdes gold/silver project will be found to be economically feasible or that a mine will be successfully constructed. 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.
THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.