SPOKANE, Wash., May 19, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Minera Andes Inc. (TSX-V:MAI) (OTCBB:MNEAF) is pleased to announce that William V. Schara has been selected for the position of chief financial officer with the company.
Mr. Schara is a certified public accountant (CPA) with over 21 years accounting and financial experience, including 10 years in the mining industry. He served in progressively more responsible financial positions beginning in 1995 at Yamana Gold Inc. ("Yamana") (formerly Yamana Resources Inc.) and rose to the position of Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Yamana Gold Inc., a TSX listed gold company. At Yamana, he assisted in over US$50 million in various financings. He was the CFO of Yamana when they placed into production the first primary silver mine in Argentina in the late 1990's. The mine has been expanded and is still in production today.
Allen V. Ambrose, president of Minera Andes, said, "I am pleased to welcome Mr. Schara to our management team where his expertise and experience in South America and fluency in Spanish will help move us toward our goal of becoming a silver/gold producer in Argentina."
Minera Andes is a gold, silver and copper exploration company working in Argentina. The corporation is funded with working capital of about US$6.1 million and a pending credit facility of up to US$2 million for feasibility study 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 90,549,719 issued and outstanding shares.
Submitted on behalf of the board of directors by Allen V. Ambrose, President and Director of Minera Andes Inc.
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.
THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.