MINERA ANDES DRILLING CUTS 132 METERS (433FT) OF
1.11 PERCENT COPPER AT LOS AZULES PROJECT

TSX: MAI   

NASD-OTCBB: MNEAF   

Spokane, Washington - April 16, 2008 - Minera Andes Inc. (TSX: MAI; US OTC: MNEAF) is pleased to report assay results from several core holes drilled as part of the 2007-2008 field season at the Los Azules porphyry copper project. The best intercept is from hole AZ-08-33 which encountered 132 meters of 1.11 % copper within a larger zone of 250 meters of 0.92 % copper.

*True thickness of the copper mineralization is undetermined.

For a map of the recent drill results, please click on the following link:

http://origin.ih.constantcontact.com/fs069/1101601393627/img/5.jpg

A total of 5,438.34 meters were drilled in 15 vertical core holes during the 2007-2008 field season. These holes constitute the 5,000 meter, Stage I of the exploration program discussed in Minera Andes Newsletters dated November 14 and December 11, 2007. Four of the 15 holes did not reach target depth due to difficult drilling conditions. Assay results are pending for 10 of these holes. Hole AZ-07-33 was drilled 400 meters southeast of high grade drill hole AZ-06-20 (173 meters of 1% Cu) within the area of copper mineralization (see attached map). The upper 73 meters of the hole contained leached cap rocks underlain by high-grade porphyry copper mineralization to 305.8 meters. Hole AZ-08-31 was drilled on the eastern margin of the target area and contains only low-grade copper mineralization. Drill hole AZ-08-32 was drilled south west of the high-grade copper mineralization encountering low to medium grade copper. Hole AZ-08-35 was drilled west of the high-grade copper mineralization and encountered low grade copper apparently marginal to the high grade zone.

Allen Ambrose, president of Minera Andes said "This field season's program continues to deliver exceptional copper results at Los Azules and the size of the target continues to expand as the drilling advances. We look forward to reporting new results as they are received. Our team of engineering consultants is completing the necessary work on a NI 43-101 Preliminary Assessment (scoping study) that will include an economic analysis of the project."

The exploration program at Los Azules is designed to define an inferred resource and provide sufficiently detailed engineering and technical information to allow the completion of an economic scoping study (a Preliminary Assessment as defined by NI 43-101) of the property by the fourth quarter of this year.

Minera Andes is advancing the Los Azules project under an option agreement (see news release dated November 14, 2007) with Xstrata Copper, one of the commodity business units within Xstrata plc (London Stock Exchange: XTA.L and Zurich Stock Exchange: XTRZn.S). The scope and size potential of the project increased dramatically in 2006 when the Minera Andes drilling discovered a near surface high-grade area of copper mineralization, when AZ-06-19 encountered 221 meters of mineralization averaging 1.62% copper that was 200 meters from hole AZ-06-20 containing 173 meters of 1% copper. Drilling in several holes ended in copper mineralization, including two holes that bottomed in high-grade copper over 1%.

During the last few years, more than half the drilling to define a copper resource has been completed and drilling will continue this field season over the known area of leachable (chalcocite) and sulfide (chalcopyrite) copper mineralization as currently defined. The area to be drilled covers approximately 2.5 kilometers by 0.9 kilometers within the enriched copper target currently identified at Los Azules that is about 3.3 kilometers long and 0.9 kilometers wide. Holes will be drilled at a nominal grid spacing of 200 meters east-west and 400 meters north-south. Where needed, infill holes will be drilled on the 200 meter north-south grid lines.

Most of the current drilling has focused on the northern half of the mineralized copper target. The holes are being drilled to a depth of approximately 350-400 meters. This drilling will test a known area of leachable (chalcocite) and sulfide (chalcopyrite) copper mineralization currently defined by 26 drill holes.

All results have been reviewed by Brian Gavin, Minera Andes' vice president of exploration, an appropriately qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. All samples were collected in accordance with industry standards. Splits from the drill core samples were submitted to Alex Stewart Assayers, Argentina, S.A., in Mendoza, Argentina, for sample pulp preparation and to ALS Chemex Laboratories.

Minera Andes is a gold, silver and copper exploration company working in Argentina. The Corporation holds about 355,000 acres of mineral exploration land in Argentina including the 49% owned San Jos� silver/gold mine that has recently commenced production. As discussed above, Minera Andes is 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, 389,935 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.

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.


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