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SPOKANE, WA--May 8,
2008-- Minera Andes Inc. (TSX: MAI and US OTC: MNEAF) announced today
details of the San Jos� mine performance to March 31, 2008. The San Jos�
project is operated by Minera Santa Cruz S.A. ("MSC") and is
owned 49% by Minera Andes and 51% by Hochschild Mining plc
("Hochschild") (HOCM.L: Reuters and HOC LN: Bloomberg - London
Stock Exchange), the operator. Production for San Jos� in Q1 2008 totaled
968,000 ounces of the silver and 12,140 ounces of gold of which 49% is
attributable to Minera Andes. Currently, plans are underway to expand the
mine and double the current production rate by year-end 2008.
The San Jos� mine
commenced production during the second quarter of 2007 and approached
full production by year-end 2007. It is anticipated that the gold and
silver produced in the first quarter of 2008 will be sold in Q2 2008 at
the prevailing market prices. Based on a gold price of $850 per ounce and
silver price of $16 per ounce the total metal production for Q1 2008 at
the San Jos� mine has a gross metal value of $26 million.
The San Jos� mine now
comprises more than 14 km of underground workings accessed by ramps
accessing the Huevos Verdes, Frea and Kospi veins. In 2008, 878 meters of
workings were completed on the Huevos Verdes, Frea, and Kospi veins. The
mine is currently staffed with 631 employees and 199 contractors.
The San Jos�
gold/silver mine saw an increase in production in Q1 2008 over Q4 2007 as
reported by MSC to the owners. Gold production up 4 % and silver
production is up 25 % when comparing the Q1 2008 over the previous
quarter. The San Jos� mine is currently operating at rate of
approximately 750 tonnes per day. Several contracts are in place to sell
dor� and concentrate production.
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Product *
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Q1 2008
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Q4 2007
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Ore production
(tonnes)
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59,897
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65,480
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Average head grade silver (g/t)
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624
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536
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Average head grade gold (g/t)
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7.10
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7.03
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Silver produced (ounces)
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968,000
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776,000
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Gold produced (ounces)
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12,140
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11,660
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Net silver sold (ounces)*
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323,000
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92,000
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Net gold sold (ounces)*
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5,050
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1,490
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*The company has a
49% interest in the San Jos� production
MSC plans a 2008
exploration program at San Jos� consisting of mapping, compilation and
interpretation of all project data on a district scale (115 km2) to
identify new targets. Approximately 4,000 meters of surface drilling and
3,800 meters of underground drilling are planned for 2008 as a follow-up
on the targets generated from the surface work.
Allen V. Ambrose,
Minera Andes' President, who is a �qualified person� as defined by
National Instrument 43-101, is responsible the information used in this
news release and has supervised the preparation of the information and
reviewed all information used in this news release.
Minera Andes is a
gold, silver and copper exploration company working in Argentina. The
Corporation holds about 304,000 acres of mineral exploration land in
Argentina including the co-owned San Jos� silver/gold mine that has
recently commenced production. Minera Andes is also exploring the Los
Azules copper project in San Juan province, where an exploration program
is underway to define a resource. Other exploration properties, primarily
silver and gold, are being evaluated in southern Argentina. The
Corporation presently has 189.4 million shares issued and outstanding.
This news is
submitted by Allen V. Ambrose, President and Director of Minera Andes
Inc.
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.
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Spokane Office
111 East Magnesium Rd.,
Spokane, WA 99208 USA
Phone: (509) 921-7322
E-mail: mineraandes@minandes.com
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Vancouver Office
Suite 911 - 470 Granville St,
Vancouver, BC. V6C 1V5
Phone: (604) 689-7017 / 877-689-7018
E-mail: ircanada@minandes.com
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Caution Concerning
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains certain "forward-looking
statements", including, but not limited to, the statements regarding
the Company's strategic plans, evolution of mineral resources and
reserves, work programs, development plans and exploration budgets at the
Company�s San Jos� Project. Investors should be aware that the
introduction of new technology such as ILR can create added risk in
achieving metallurgical performance. The forward-looking statements
express, as at the date of this press release, the Company's plans, estimates,
forecasts, projections, expectations or beliefs as to future events and
results. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and
uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate. Therefore, actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. In
particular, there can be no assurance that commercial production at the
San Jos� mine will be achieved on a timely basis, or at all, that
production capacity at the San Jos� mine will be successfully increased,
that resources and reserves at the San Jos� mine will be increased or
that Minera Andes will successfully raise the funds necessary to maintain
its interest in the San Jos� mine. Risks and uncertainties that could
cause results or future events to differ materially from current
expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, factors associated with fluctuations in
the market price of precious metals, mining industry risks, risks
associated with foreign operations, the state of the capital markets,
environmental risks and hazards, uncertainty as to calculation of mineral
reserves and other risks. We refer readers to the risk factors and
uncertainties described in the Company�s continuous disclosure record, a
copy of which is available under the Company�s profile at www.sedar.com.
Minera Andes� joint venture partner, a subsidiary of Hochschild Mining
plc, and its affiliates do not accept responsibility for the use of
project data or the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors:
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"SEC") permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC,
to disclose only those mineral deposits with �mineral reserves� that a
company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain
terms in this press release, such as "mineral resources", that
the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in our filings with
the SEC, because these terms are common usage in Canada and form part of
our Canadian filing requirements.
THE TSX HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE
ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
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