SPOKANE, Wash., July 17, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Minera Andes Inc. (the "Corporation") (OTCBB:MNEAF) (TSX Venture Exchange:MAI) is pleased to announce that it has received from Snowden Mining Industry Consultants Inc. ("Snowden") an independent resource estimate on the developing El Pluma/Cerro Saavedra high-grade gold/silver vein project in southern Argentina, where underground exploration and development construction is scheduled for later this year. This study estimates a resource totaling 922,600 gold equivalent ounces or 55.4 million silver equivalent ounces above a 50 g/t silver cutoff grade from the Huevos Verdes and the Saavedra West areas. (Au equivalent is based upon $300 (U.S.) gold and $5.00 (U.S.) silver prices, or a 60:1 silver/gold ratio, which does not take into consideration possible differences in metal recoveries.)
The sampling density was sufficient to categorize part of the estimated resource as "Indicated" and the remainder as "Inferred." The total Indicated Resource for the Huevos Verdes and Saavedra West areas is estimated to be 1,856,000 tonnes grading 214.5 g/t Ag and 2.1 g/t Au. An additional 2,689,000 tonnes of material grading 253.5 g/t Ag and 2.5 g/t Au is classified as Inferred. These resources are reported above a cutoff grade of 50 g/t Ag. The Indicated Resource equates to 12,800,000 ounces of silver and 128,000 ounces of gold. The Inferred Resource equates to 24,678,000 ounces of silver and 221,000 ounces of gold.
The El Pluma/Cerro Saavedra project is in the early stages of development in an area that is evolving into a district scale target. To date, four major parallel gold/silver vein targets have been identified on the property. These targeted structural trends are defined by geophysical anomalies, intermittently exposed vein, breccias, and vein float, with high-grade gold/silver values over a total of 20 km of potential strike length in the Corporation's 50,000 hectare epithermal gold/silver land package. Drilling by the Corporation's joint venture partner, Mauricio Hochschild & Cia. Ltda. ("MHC"), is planned to start in the fourth quarter to test several targets, at and adjacent to the Huevos Verdes and Saavedra West areas.
Snowden, an internationally recognized consulting engineering firm headquartered in Australia, provided a report authored by independent qualified persons Robert Cinits, P.Geo., and Steven Blower, P. Geo., that conforms to Canadian National Instrument 43-101 requirements. The Snowden staff based in Vancouver, B.C. completed the study.
Resources were estimated for two zones of mineralization, Huevos Verdes and Saavedra West, which contain a sufficient drilling density to complete a resource estimate. Drilling in both areas combined covered about 2.4 km of strike length of the epithermal vein system. These areas are the source of some of the highest grade gold/silver mineralization found to date on the property in drilling and surface exposures.
Huevos Verdes Resource
In a 2.2 km section of epithermal vein at Huevos Verdes Snowden estimated an Indicated Resource of 1,474,000 tonnes grading 211.8 g/t silver and 2.6 g/t gold using a cutoff grade of 50 g/t Ag. An additional Inferred Resource is estimated to be 2,110,000 tonnes grading 251.8 g/t silver and 2.8 g/t gold. Table 1 summarizes the classified resource estimate for the Huevos Verdes zone at various cutoff grades.
To view Table 1. (Huevos Verdes Resource Estimate) please see the link at the bottom of the release.
Estimated Indicated and Inferred gold and silver ounces contained in the resource at a cutoff grade of 50 g/t for Huevos Verdes are shown in Table 2.
To view Table 2. (Indicated and Inferred Contained Ounces at 50 g/t Ag Cutoff) please see the link at the bottom of the release.
The resource estimate was based on drilling by the Corporation and its joint venture partner, MHC. This work marks a further step in the evolution of Huevos Verdes as a vein with the potential for sizeable quantities of gold/silver mineralization. To date, 32 of 53 holes drilled in four campaigns at Huevos Verdes have intersected high-grade gold and silver mineralization over potentially mineable widths. This is a 60 percent success rate, considered high by exploration/drilling standards for a vein system. Successive drill campaigns have drilled deeper and more extensively along strike, and have encountered new high-grade mineralization at each stage. Currently, almost all of the drilling is confined to approximately 2.2 kilometers of the known 5 kilometers of strike length for the Huevos Verdes vein, which remains open at depth and along strike. The Huevos Verdes vein is one of four vein targets with a combined potential strike length of over 20 km.
Saavedra West Resource
The gold/silver mineralization currently identified at Saavedra West is comprised of: 1) a 200 m section of epithermal quartz vein, and 2) an ovoid-shaped, 20 meter by 60 meter high-grade breccia zone immediately adjacent to the vein. Snowden estimated an Indicated Resource of 382,000 tonnes grading 225.0 g/t silver and 0.4 g/t gold, using a cutoff grade of 50 g/t Ag. An additional Inferred Resource of 579,000 tonnes grading 259.7 g/t silver and 1.4 g/t gold has also been estimated. Table 3 summarizes the classified resource estimate at various cutoff grades.
To view Table 3. (Saavedra West Resource Estimate) please see the link at the bottom of the release.
The estimated Indicated and Inferred gold and silver ounces contained in the resource at a cutoff grade of 50 g/t for Saavedra West are shown in Table 4.
To view Table 4. (Indicated and Inferred Contained Ounces at 50 g/t Ag Cutoff) please see the link at the bottom of the release.
MHC is earning a 51 percent ownership in the Huevos Verdes project under terms of a joint venture and operating agreement signed in 2001. Terms of the agreement include the expenditure of US$3 million by MHC over three years to earn 51 percent ownership; the expenditure of a minimum of US$100,000 on other targets within the land package; and payment to the Corporation of US$400,000 per year.
MHC, a large private South American metal mining and cement production company, specializes in the mining of vein-hosted metal deposits. It produces about 450,000 ounces of gold, 10 million ounces of silver, and approximately one million tonnes of cement annually and has annual revenues of approximately US$200 million.
Minera Andes is a mining exploration corporation that controls approximately 12 projects on about 163,000 hectares (402,733 acres) of mineral exploration land in Argentina. Most of the properties are located in the Andean cordillera and primarily contain gold, silver and copper mineralization targets. The Corporation is presently pursuing the further development of its gold/silver discovery property in Santa Cruz province.
For further information, please contact: Allen V. Ambrose, president, at the Spokane office, or Krister A. Kottmeier, investor relations -- Canada, at the Vancouver office. Visit our Web site: www.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.
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.
This release may be viewed in its entirety, including Tables 1-4, at the following link: http://www.primezone.com/media/temp_nr/mneaf.pdf