SPOKANE, WASHINGTON - August 18, 2004 -
Minera Andes Inc. (TSX-V: MAI; NASD OTCBB: MNEAF) -Metallurgical
testing has achieved higher recoveries of gold and silver from
underground samples of mineralized material at Minera Andes Inc.'s
Huevos Verdes gold/silver vein. The vein under development is part of
the San José project located in southern Argentina. The recoveries of
high-grade gold and silver from the latest round of tests are higher
than recoveries reported from a series of tests on drill samples
reported by Minera Andes in 2003.
The objectives of the
metallurgical program are to lower capital and operating costs, increase
metal recoveries, and minimize environmental impact and decrease time
to production. In the latest ongoing metallurgical tests in which
industry standard extraction methods were used, preliminary results show
that recovery of gold from high-grade underground sampling was 96
percent for both flotation and chemical leaching technologies. Silver
recoveries ranged from 93 per cent (chemical leaching) to 95.7 percent
(flotation). In a previous round of tests on drill samples reported by
Minera Andes February 11, 2003 (News Release 03-03), recoveries using
the same technologies were 94 percent for gold and 92.1 percent for
silver.
Allen V. Ambrose, president of Minera Andes, said "As a
high-grade gold/silver vein, with potential to be a low cost mine, the
latest test results from underground sampling at Huevos Verdes have
important implications for production because they may further lower
costs and make a more efficient mine."
Five types of mineralized
material were selected for testing from underground workings at Huevos
Verdes, where planned underground construction work of tunnels and other
infrastructure is being accelerated in order to complete a 3,500-meter
work program around the end of 2004. A feasibility study, also planned
for completion near the end of the year, is underway for the Huevos
Verdes project.
The testing, which is continuing on other sample
types, was commissioned by Minera Andes' joint venture partner and
project co-owner, Mauricio Hochschild & Cia. Ltda. (MHC) of Lima,
Peru (MHC, 51 percent ownership; Minera Andes, 49 percent). C.H. Plenge
Laboratory in Lima, Peru tested the high grade samples and will also
test other samples as underground construction and sampling continue.
SGS Lakefield Research in Canada will conduct check work on duplicates
of the metallurgical samples, and crushing and grinding tests.
Huevos
Verdes is Minera Andes' most advanced project and is located in the San
Jose project, a 98,800-acre mining district-size property with about
ten other known gold/silver targets at earlier stages of exploration.
Currently, four veins totaling about 32 km of strike length have been
identified at San Jose. Only 2.2 km of Huevos Verdes has been
drill-tested in detail, or less than half of its presently known 5 km of
strike length. The mineralization at Huevos Verdes is open at depth and
laterally.
Minera Andes is funded with working capital of
approximately US$5.3 million, as at June 30, 2004, for its exploration
and underground construction programs. Minera Andes is a mining
exploration company focused on gold, silver and copper exploration in
Argentina where it holds about 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of
mineral exploration land and co-owns the advanced stage San Jose/Huevos
Verdes gold/silver project now under construction for possible mine
production, with a feasibility study underway. 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 70,291,490 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
111 East Magnesium Rd., Suite A
Spokane, WA 99208 USA
Phone: (509) 921-7322
E-mail: mineraandes@minandes.com
Vancouver Office
1000-355 Burrard Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6C 2G8
Phone: (604) 689-7017; 877-689-7018
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. In addition, Minera Andes' joint venture
partner, Mauricio Hochschild & Cia. Ltda., does not accept
responsibility for the use of project data or in the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
CAUTIONARY NOTE TO U.S. INVESTORS CONCERNING ESTIMATES OF INFERRED RESOURCES:
This
news release uses the term "Inferred Resources." We advise U.S.
investors that while this term is recognized and required by Canadian
regulations, the SEC does not recognize it. "Inferred Resources" have a
great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty
as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that
all or any part of an "Inferred Resource" will ever be upgraded to a
higher category. Under Canadian rules estimates of "Inferred Resources"
may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. U.S.
INVESTORS ARE CAUTIONED NOT TO ASSUME THAT PART OR ALL OF AN "INFERRED
RESOURCE" EXISTS, OR IS ECONOMICALLY OR LEGALLY MINABLE.
THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
|