Monday, February 23, 2009

Mining PRs and the Ottotrans™: Part Three

I've had mails about part one and part two of this series and even people saying "oh do it more often", so as you're all suckers for punishment here goes. Today's mining PR is a longer one than before and comes from Minera Andes (MAI.to). But don't worry, I'll keep the Ottotrans™ version concise.

This is what it says:

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SPOKANE, WA, Feb. 23 - Minera Andes Inc. (the "Corporation" or "Minera Andes") is pleased to announce that Robert R. McEwen has been appointed as Executive Chairman of Minera Andes. Minera Andes has also appointed two new directors, Messrs. Richard Brissenden and Michael Stein. Minera Andes also announced that Dr. Arthur D. (Darryl) Drummond has retired as a director of the Corporation after almost 13 years of service.

Mr. McEwen is the Chairman and CEO of U.S. Gold. He is a recipient of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honor. A leading Canadian mining industry entrepreneur, with active exploration underway in Nevada and Mexico, Mr. McEwen was the founder, former chairman and CEO of Goldcorp Inc., which he built from an investment company with a $50 million market capitalization to one of the largest gold-mining companies in the world with an $8 billion market capitalization by the time he retired from the company. His achievements in natural resources have been recognized with such honors as The Northern Miner's Man of the Year Award; Ernst & Young's Ontario Entrepreneur of the Year in the Energy Category; and the Developer of the Year Award from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

Mr. Richard Brissenden is a chartered accountant with more than 25 years experience in the mining and exploration sector. He serves as a director on several mining companies, including Canuc Resources Corporation, Excellon Resources Inc., Corona Gold Corporation, Lexam Explorations and Valdez Gold. He has previously served as a director of, amongst others, Metco Resources., which was purchased by Breakwater Resources Ltd. in 2008 and Hudbay Minerals Inc. from June 2003 to 2006.

Mr. Stein has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MPI Group Inc., a company engaged in real estate investment and development, since 1994. Mr. Stein has also held the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MICC Properties Inc., a company engaged in real estate investment and development, since 1987. Mr. Stein is also currently the Chairman of Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAP REIT). Between 1978 and 1987, Mr. Stein held progressively senior positions, ultimately holding the position of Executive Vice President responsible for operations, with The Mortgage Insurance Co. of Canada. Mr. Stein was a director of Moneysworth & Best Shoe Care Inc. between 1997 and 2000. Mr. Stein was also a member of the Board of Directors of Goldcorp Inc., a public natural resource company the shares of which are listed on the TSX and New York Stock Exchange, between 2000 and 2006. Mr. Stein is a graduate engineer and holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance and International Business from Columbia University in New York.

Messrs. Brissenden and Stein were nominated for appointment by Mr. McEwen, pursuant to the rights he has in connection with the private placement he recently completed with Minera Andes.

Mr. Ambrose, President and Chief Executive Officer of Minera Andes said "I look forward to the contributions of these new, highly experienced board members as Minera Andes continues to grow and uses its ongoing income to create new asset value and market awareness. We are also very pleased that Rob McEwen has agreed to take on a more active executive role with the Corporation."

Dr. Drummond is a self-employed consulting geological engineer who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. On behalf of the Corporation, Mr. Ambrose thanked Dr. Drummond for his many years of service to the Corporation. Mr. Ambrose said "I am very grateful to Darryl for his long-time service on the Board and his guidance, as Minera Andes has grown from an early-stage exploration company to an emerging gold/silver production company with excellent prospects for growth."

The Board of Directors of the Corporation now consists of Robert R. McEwen, Executive Chairman, Allen V. Ambrose, President and Chief Executive Officer, Richard W. Brissenden, Victor Lazarovici, Allan J. Marter, Dr. Donald Quick and Michael L. Stein.

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And this is what it means:

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SPOKANE, WA, Feb. 23 - Minera Andes Inc. (the "Corporation" or "Minera Andes") is pleased to announce that Robert R. McEwen is now da man. Minera Andes has also appointed two new directors, Messrs. Richard Brissenden and Michael Stein. Minera Andes also announced that Dr. Arthur D. (Darryl) Drummond is toast.

Mr. McEwen is the Chairman and CEO of U.S. Gold which should really be named Mexico Silver because the only thing they've found worth talking about is a lump of Ag at its Gallo project in the land of large sombreros. Mr McEwen is really, really very special indeed and lots of people have told him that already. You'll note he was at the head of Goldcorp when it had a market cap of much less than Minera Andes, so imagine what he can do for you here. His achievements in natural resources have been recognized by everyone because he is really, really very special indeed.

Mr. Richard Brissenden is a chartered accountant who has been twiddling his thumbs since Metco got bought out by Breakwater. He's filled in a few months by sitting on the boards of other pennycrappers but got a call from his old buddy McEwen last week and is now a director here.

Mr. Stein has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MPI Group Inc., a company engaged in real estate investment and development, since 1994. He's a buddy of McEwen's from the Goldcorp days and probably couldn't name the capital of Argentina, let alone find San José on a map. His director's role at Best Shoe Care will be particularly useful to the BoD at Minera Andes.

Messrs. Brissenden and Stein will do exactly as McEwen tells them to do. Mr. McEwen was given the chance to put his own flunkeys on the BoD thanks to his recent company-saving financing and is wasting no time.

Mr. Ambrose, President and Chief Executive Officer of Minera Andes said "I look forward to being bossed around by two people who have no idea what MAI.to has been through in the last 15 years. We're also relieved that McEwen is finally taking over and can show us how to market the company because we've been crap at that so far."

Dr. Drummond is a self-employed consulting geological engineer who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. On behalf of the Corporation, Mr. Ambrose thanked Dr. Drummond for his many years of service to the Corporation. Mr. Ambrose said "You're gone, sucker."

The Board of Directors of the Corporation now consists of Robert R. McEwen, Executive Chairman, Robert R. McEwen, Robert R. McEwen, Robert R. McEwen, Robert R. McEwen and a few other people.