VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 19, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Andean American Mining Corp. (CDNX:AAG) has received notice from Placer Dome Del Peru S.A.C., a subsidiary of Placer Dome Inc. (NYSE:PDG) (TSE:PDG), that they have completed the 1st stage of exploration on the Santa Rosa Property according to our letter of agreement (Jan. 3, 2001). The agreement, with Placer Dome, was structured such that after they completed the initial option payment and committed work costs for the first year of the agreement they may withdraw at anytime without penalty. Placer Dome has advised Andean American that they have terminated our agreement. 100% of the property will revert to Andean American as a result of the decision.
Placer Dome ran a field program at Santa Rosa during the first seven months of this year. The work performed by Placer Dome was composed of geological mapping, geochemical sampling and geophysical re-interpretation. The work program investigated all of the previously known mineralized targets on the property and discovered two additional targets. As a result of this work, Placer Dome had prioritized five of the targets (Carelo, Titiminas, Mauser 8, Virundo and Carimpay).
Andean American would like to thank Placer Dome Del Peru for the professional manner in which they carried out their work program -- particularly in the areas of environmental control and community relations. The company has seen a substantial increase in the geological knowledge of property this year due to their diligent work. Andean American remains confident regarding the potential for the Santa Rosa Property.
During the next dry season (approximately April) the company will start a third phase of exploration to identify additional sources of gold-silver mineralization for the Santa Rosa Mine. The priority exploration target for the company is currently the Carelo Zone, which is located in-between the Santa Rosa Dome (currently being mined) and the crusher and plant facilities. This zone was sampled by the company in February of 2000 and returned gold values of 6.13g/t over 3.0m and 5.06 g/t over 11.0m (March 27, 2000). A recent visit to Carelo identified additional styles of mineralization that are similar to those within the Santa Rosa Dome.
For further information, please contact: John Devlin at 1-866-885-0484 or jdevlin@aag-cdnx.com, or the Company at phone: (604) 681-6186, toll free: 1-888-356-4784; and Fax: (604) 681-3652; email: info@andeanamerican.com or info@aag-cdnx.com; Web site: www.andeanamerican.com
On behalf of Andean American Mining Corp. John F. Huguet President & CEO
This news release may contain forward-looking statements regarding upcoming work programs and events. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
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