SPOKANE, WA--January 23, 2009-- Minera Andes Inc. (TSX: MAI and US OTC: MNEAF) is pleased to announce details of the San Jos� mine production to December 31, 2008. The San Jos� joint venture 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). Total production at the San Jos� mine in 2008 was 4,380,000 ounces of silver and 54,260 ounces of gold.

Production at the San Jos� mine in Q4 2008 totaled 1,329,000 ounces of silver and 17,370 ounces of gold, of which 49% is attributable to Minera Andes. Mill throughput increased 60% compared to the previous quarter due to the plant expansion completed in October. Silver production was 34% higher and gold production was 41% higher than the previous quarter due to higher tonnage treated which was partially offset by lower head grades.

SAN JOS� MINE PRODUCTION

*The Company has a 49% interest in the San Jos� joint venture.

The San Jos� mine entered into commercial production on January 1, 2008, and a project to double the original design capacity of the processing plant from 750 metric tonnes per day ("MTPD") to 1,500 MTPD was completed in October 2008. Mill production has now been ramped up to the capacity of 1,500 metric tonnes per day, and December 2008 marked the first full month of production at the expanded capacity rate. Approximately half of the concentrate produced by the mill is converted on site to dor� bullion.

Operational milestones accomplished in the fourth quarter include:
. Completion of the increase in processing capacity to 1,500 MTPD and most of the related ancillary works.
. Commissioning problems with the dor� furnaces were resolved, which allowed the precipitate in inventory to be processed into dor� bullion.
. Improvements in the quality of the dor� through improved precipitate filtration.
. Re-routing the Kospi ramp in order to alleviate difficult ground conditions.

The increased production volume and connection to the national power grid, which is forecast to be completed in the first quarter of 2009, should enable a significant reduction in unit operating costs in 2009.. MSC forecasts that at the expanded production rate, the San Jos� mine will produce approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 7,500,000 ounces of silver in 2009.

Allen V. Ambrose, president of Minera Andes said, "We are pleased to report increased gold and silver production at San Jos�. The fourth quarter results start to show the impact of production that has ramped up to 1500 metric tonnes per day. We anticipate this increase in production to further reduce the unit cost per ounce and unit cost per tonne at the mine."

The San Jos� mine now comprises 18 km of underground workings accessed by ramps on the Huevos Verdes, Frea and Kospi veins. During 2008, 5,187 meters of workings were completed on these three veins. The mine is currently staffed with 734 employees and over 200 contractors.

Allen V. Ambrose, Minera Andes' President, who is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for 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 Company holds about 304,000 acres of mineral exploration land in Argentina. The producing San Jos� silver/gold mine is 49% owned by Minera Andes through a joint venture. Minera Andes is also exploring the Los Azules copper project in San Juan province, where an exploration program has defined a resource and a scoping study is underway. Other exploration properties, primarily silver and gold, are being evaluated in southern Argentina. The Corporation presently has 190,158,851 shares issued and outstanding.

This news is submitted by Allen V. Ambrose, President and Director of Minera Andes Inc.

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. 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 production forecasts, or cost savings at the San Jos� mine will be successfully achieved, increased, or that resources and reserves at the San Jos� mine will be increased. 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.


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