Completion Of Ni 43-101 Technical Report

 

SPOKANE, WA - Minera Andes Inc. reported the results of a NI 43-101 Technical Report that comprises an independent review of the mineral resources and reserves as of June 2008 at the San Jose mine in Santa Cruz province, southern Argentina. The San Jose mine is operated by Minera Santa Cruz S.A. ("MSC") (owned 51% by Hochschild Mining plc) and 49% by Minera Andes.

The Technical Report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Minera Andes, Inc., San Jose Silver-Gold Project, Santa Cruz, Argentina", was prepared by SRK Consulting (US), Inc. and endorsed by Chris Elliott (MAusIMM) and Leah Mach (CPG), appropriately qualified persons according to NI 43-101.

The June 2008 San Jose mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates, mine life, and mining rates, disclosed herein are based on work from Minera Andes joint venture partner that was audited and adjusted by independent qualified persons Chris Elliott and Leah Mach at SRK. The mineral resources and reserves remain open along strike and at depth in some areas.

SRK used a gold price of $600 per ounce (oz) and $10.50 per oz for silver for estimating mineral resources and reserves, which reflect the price outlook in mid-2008 for San Jose. The average Life of Mine cash operating costs are estimated at $122/tonne of ore processed, or $271/ounce gold equivalent. The base case Net Present Value (NPV), using long-term metal price estimations of $850 per ounce of gold and $12.50 per ounce of silver and a discount rate of 8%, is $205 million. The undiscounted NPV representing cumulative cash flow is $234 million.

At June 30, 2008 total Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources at the San Jose mine were 570,000 ounces of gold and 39.4 million ounces of silver, contained in 2.5 million tonnes grading 7.11 g/t gold and 490 g/t silver, or 73.6 million ounces of silver on a silver equivalent basis (see table below). An additional 77,000 ounces of gold and 5.1 million ounces of silver, in 447,000 tonnes, grading 5.33 g/t gold and 356 g/t silver are classified as Inferred Resources. The cutoff value used to estimate the mineral resources is 181g/t silver equivalent (using a price of $600/oz for gold and $10.50/oz for silver).

The mineral resource estimates are based on 593 surface and underground drill holes (12,140 meters), 3 surface trenches (95.2 meters) and 5,389 channel samples (11,084 meters). The channel samples were taken from underground workings constructed at Huevos Verdes, Frea, and Kospi. The nominal drill spacing at Huevos Verdes and Frea is approximately 35 meters along strike (horizontally) and 50 meters vertically and at Kospi it is approximately 40 meters by 40 meters. The underground channel samples are spaced at approximately 2.5m along the drifts and the drifts are spaced at about 20m vertically.

The company’s address is 111 East Magnesium Road, Ste. A, Spokane, WA 99208, (509) 921-7322, fax: (509) 921-7325, email: [email protected].