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Drilling Is Set to Start at Minera Andes' Los Azules Porphyry Copper Project
Monday February 6, 6:10 pm ET

SPOKANE, WA--(MARKET WIRE)--Feb 6, 2006 -- Minera Andes Inc. (Vancouver:MAI.V - News) (OTC BB:MNEAF.OB - News) is pleased to announce that drilling will commence this week at the Los Azules porphyry copper system in the San Juan province, central Argentina. Both a core and a reverse circulation drill rig have been mobilized to the property.

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A total of 36 holes, totaling approximately 9,000 meters, are planned for the current campaign. The holes will be drilled to a depth of 250 meters. This drilling will test a known area of leachable (chalcocite) copper mineralization currently defined by 8 previous drill holes. In addition, the area is defined by a deep penetrating IP chargeability anomaly and, on its eastern flank, a magnetic low recognized in both airborne and ground surveys. The area to be drilled covers approximately 2,500 by 750 meters. Holes will be drilled at a grid spacing of 200 meters east-west and 400 meters north-south.

The exploration program is designed to define an inferred resource and provide sufficiently detailed information to allow the completion of a Preliminary Assessment (as defined by NI 43-101) of the property. To this end the engineering firm of Roscoe Postle and Associates has been retained to monitor the program and prepare the NI 43-101 resource estimate and Preliminary Assessment report. The field work will be managed by Nivaldo Rojas and Associates under the supervision of Minera Andes' technical staff.

Drilling at Los Azules encountered features typical of many porphyry copper systems. In the discovery zone, strongly leached cap rock extends from 65 to 161 meters depth followed by an enriched zone of secondary copper mineralization (chalcocite) overlying a zone of mixed secondary and primary (chalcopyrite) copper mineralization. The best hole to date contained a 117-meter interval of 0.61% copper in the enriched zone (for details see News Release dated May 4, 2004).

Minera Andes is a gold, silver and copper exploration company working in Argentina. Minera Andes holds about 500,000 acres of mineral exploration land in Argentina, including the co-owned San José silver/gold project now under construction and feasibility consideration for possible mine production. Minera Andes is also exploring an enriched copper zone at its Los Azules property and is acquiring other exploration targets in southern Argentina. The Corporation presently has 109,840,637 issued and outstanding shares.

This news is submitted by Allen V. Ambrose, president and director of Minera Andes Inc.

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.

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.

THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.


Contact:

Spokane Office
Art Johnson
111 East Magnesium Rd., Suite A
Spokane, WA 99208 USA
Phone: (509) 921-7322
E-mail: mineraandes@minandes.com

Vancouver Office
Krister A. Kottmeier
410-744 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6C 1A5
Phone: (604) 689-7017; 877-689-7018
E-mail: ircanada@minandes.com


Source: Minera Andes Inc

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