Minera Andes Engages Macquarie Bank Limited for Debt Financing for San Jose Project
SPOKANE, WA, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — October 25, 2007 – Minera Andes Inc. (TSX: MAI and US OTC: MNEAF) has accepted an offer letter from Macquarie Bank Limited (“Macquarie Bank”, Australian Stock Exchange, ASX: MBL) to provide a loan facility of US$10 million. The main purpose of the facility will be to provide additional funding to Minera Andes for its 49% portion of the costs of the exploration, sustaining capital, cost overruns and expansion related costs of the San Jose silver/gold project that entered its production commissioning phase in the third quarter of 2007.
The US$10 million debt facility provided by Macquarie Bank is subject to completion of documentation. The funds from the facility have been delivered and Toronto Stock Exchange approval received. The debt financing is for part of Minera Andes’ share of the October cash call for costs of mine construction, expansion of the exploration program which will include drilling new targets, expanding the reserves and resources, and for general working capital. In addition, since this facility is an extension of a previously used debt facility with Macquarie Bank, we realize a significant savings in cost to document and complete the loan.
Allen Ambrose, president of Minera Andes, said: “As the San Jose project is continuing to grow in size and scope, making adjustments in the mine plan now allows us to make significant cost savings of the operations down the road. The Macquarie Bank bridge facility provides us with additional funds to complete our objectives.”
The commercial terms of the loan include a facility fee of 1.75% of the principal amount of the loan and interest of Libor plus 2.75% p.a., currently totaling approximately 7.79% p.a. In addition, Minera Andes has issued share purchase warrants acquiring 4,066,390 Common Shares of Minera Andes at an exercise price of C$2.41 per share. The warrant exercise price was calculated at a 20 percent premium to the volume weighted average of Minera Andes’ common stock determined from the ten business days prior to October 22, 2007. The warrants issued are exercisable until September 30, 2009 the same term as the loan. The warrants and the underlying common shares will have a hold period until February 25, 2008. A success fee of US$100,000, being one percent of the principal amount of the facility, is payable to Xystus Limited for assisting with the structuring and negotiation of the loan facility.
Macquarie Bank Limited is a diversified international provider of specialist investment banking, trading and financial services with over 11,000 employees in 24 countries. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Macquarie Bank listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1996 and is ranked as one of Australia’s top 20 companies by market capitalization.
Minera Andes is a gold, silver and copper exploration company working in Argentina. The Corporation holds about 410,000 acres of mineral exploration land in Argentina including the co-owned San Jose silver/gold mine that has started initial production. Minera Andes is also exploring the Los Azules copper project in San Juan province, where an exploration program is underway to define a resource. Other exploration properties, primarily silver and gold, are being evaluated in southern Argentina. The Corporation presently has 166,767,517 shares issued and outstanding.
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 Jose Project. Investors should be aware that the introduction of new technology such as ILR can create added risk in achieving metallurgical performance. 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 commercial production at the San Jose mine will be achieved on a timely basis, or at all, that production capacity at the San Jose mine will be successfully increased, that resources and reserves at the San Jose mine will be increased or that Minera Andes will successfully raise the funds necessary to maintain its interest in the San Jose mine. 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, dilution risks to it 49% ownership by not being able to contribute pro-rata to Minera Santa Cruz S.A. cash calls, and other risks. Reference is made 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 http://www.sedar.com/. In addition, 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.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors:
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits with “mineral reserves” that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms in this press release, such as “mineral resources”, that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in our filings with the SEC.
CONTACT: Art Johnson at the Spokane office, or Krister A. Kottmeier, investor relations – Canada at the Vancouver office. Visit our web site: http://www.minandes.com/; Spokane Office, 111 East Magnesium Road, Ste. A, Spokane, WA, 99208 USA, Phone: (509) 921-7322, E-mail: info@minandes.com; Vancouver Office, 911-470 Granville Street, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 1V5, Phone: (604) 689-7017, (877) 689-7018, E-mail: ircanada@minandes.com
Minera Andes Inc.
CONTACT: Art Johnson at the Spokane office, or Krister A. Kottmeier,investor relations – Canada at the Vancouver office. Visit our web site:http://www.minandes.com/; Spokane Office, 111 East Magnesium Road, Ste. A, Spokane,WA, 99208 USA, Phone: (509) 921-7322, E-mail: info@minandes.com; VancouverOffice, 911-470 Granville Street, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 1V5, Phone: (604)689-7017, (877) 689-7018, E-mail: ircanada@minandes.com