Mr. Art Johnson reports

MINERA ANDES ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2009 SAN JOSE MINE PRODUCTION AND REDUCED CASH COSTS

Minera Andes Inc. has released the details of the San Jose mine production for the first quarter of 2009. The San Jose project is owned by Minera Santa Cruz SA (MSC), which in turn is owned 49 per cent by Minera Andes and 51 per cent by Hochschild Mining PLC (Hochschild). Hochschild is the operator of San Jose. Production for San Jose in the first quarter (on a coproduct basis) totalled 1,299,000 ounces of silver at a cash cost of $4.99 per ounce and 16,560 ounces of gold at a cash operating cost of $357 (U.S.) per ounce, of which 49 per cent of the production is attributable to Minera Andes.

The San Jose gold/silver mine saw a decrease in gold and silver production and a significant lowering of unit operating costs in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the fourth quarter of 2008 as reported by MSC to the owners. Silver production was 2 per cent lower and gold production was 5 per cent lower in Q1 2009 compared with the previous quarter, because approximately 20 per cent of the mill feed was derived from low-grade surface stockpiles. This was partially offset by the higher tonnage being treated in the current quarter. Unit operating costs were lower due to increased production and the economies of scale associated with the processing capacity expansion completed in Q4 of 2008.

Production cash operating costs were $12.2-million (U.S.). Total operating cash costs during Q1 2009 decreased approximately 28 per cent compared with Q4 2008 mainly due to lower costs for marketing, labor, supplies, energy, and repairs and maintenance, all of which was partially offset by an increase in the tonnage mined and processed.

The cash cost per tonne was $111.80 (U.S.) in Q1 2009. The cash cost per tonne decreased approximately 34 per cent in Q1 2009 compared with Q4 2008 due to the lower total cash costs explained above and, to a lesser extent, by the higher volume extracted from the mine and processed at the plant.Cash cost per ounce of silver and gold, on a coproduct basis, decreased approximately 28 per cent and 21 per cent respectively in the Q1 2009 compared with Q4 2008.

Mill throughput increased 10 per cent in Q1 2009 compared with the previous quarter due to the plant expansion completed in October, which was partially offset by the lower number of production days in Q1 2009 (87 days) than in Q4 2008 (95 days). The San Jose mine entered into full commercial production on Jan. 1, 2008, however there were 317,000 ounces of silver and 4,319 ounces of gold produced in the second half of 2007 during the commissioning period. A planned expansion project to double the original design capacity of the processing plant from 750 tonnes per day (MTPD) to 1,500 MTPD was completed in October, 2008.

Mill production has now been ramped up to the expanded capacity, and the first quarter of 2009 marked the first full quarter of production at near the expanded capacity rate. Approximately half of the concentrate produced by the mill is converted on site to dore bullion.

MSC sales of precious metal were lower in Q1 2009 compared with Q4 2008 because of current negotiations for new contracts and better conditions for the sale of dore bars and concentrates. As a result, the company had accumulated final product inventory of silver and gold that have been sold in Q2 2009. Product inventories at the end of Q1 2009 consisted of 7,437 kilograms of high-grade precipitate from the Gekko electrowinning circuit (3,951 kilograms at the end of Q4 2008), 12,110 kilograms of silver-gold dore bullion (9,954 kilograms at the end of Q4 2008), and 1,449 tonnes of silver-gold concentrate (195 tonnes at the end of Q4 2008), containing 11,290 ounces of gold and 898,000 ounces of silver (6,190 ounces of gold and 459,000 ounces of silver at the end of Q4 2008).

                         SAN JOSE MINE PRODUCTION *



                                            Q1           Q4           Q1

    Production                             2009         2008         2008

    Ore production (tonnes)              118,986      107,875       59,897

    Average head grade silver (g/t)            427          463          624

    Average head grade gold (g/t)             5.29         5.91         7.10

    Silver produced (ounces)             1,299,000    1,329,000      968,000

    Gold produced (ounces)                  16,560       17,370       12,140

    Net silver sold (ounces)               838,000    1,135,000      323,000

    Net gold sold (ounces)                  11,380       13,930        5,050

    *  The company has a 49% interest in MSC that owns the San Jose mine.



                             SAN JOSE MINE COSTS

                                            Q1           Q4           Q1

    Costs                                  2009         2008         2008

    Operating Cash Costs ($)            12,219,000   16,987,000    8,719,000

    Operating cash cost/tonne(xx) ($/t)      111.8        168.2        141.6

    Operating cash cost/oz Au ($/oz)           357          494          286

    Operating cash cost/oz Ag ($/oz)          4.99         6.32         5.42

    (xx) The cash cost per tonne considers both the extracted and processed

         tonnes.

Work is underway to also increase mine production from 750 MTPD to 1,500 MTPD, primarily by accessing the Kospi vein, located between the Huevos Verdes and Frea veins which are the source of the current production. Production from the Kospi vein is anticipated to commence during the second quarter of 2009. In the meantime, mill feed is being generated from expanded mine production at the Huevos Verde and Frea veins and from a surface stockpile of low-grade ore.Allen V. Ambrose, Minera Andes' President, who is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for the information used in this news release and has supervised the preparation of the information and reviewed all information used in this news release.Minera Andes is a gold, silver and copper exploration company working in Argentina. The Corporation holds or has an interest in approximately 304,000 acres of mineral exploration land in Argentina, including the properties comprising the 49% owned San Jose silver/gold mine. Minera Andes is also exploring the Los Azules copper project in San Juan province, where a scoping study has been completed and a 43-101 technical report filed. Other exploration properties, primarily silver and gold, are being evaluated in southern Argentina. The Corporation presently has 230,538,851 shares issued and outstanding.This news is submitted by Allen V. Ambrose, CEO, President and Director of Minera Andes Inc.