TIDMHOC 
 
RNS Number : 9436S 
Hochschild Mining PLC 
20 September 2010 
 

 
 
        Hochschild Mining and Minera Andes agree on settlement of lawsuit 
 
·      Minera Andes signed formal loan agreement regarding $65 million project 
financing loan 
·      Settlement signed with immediate discontinuation of pending litigation 
 
 Hochschild Mining plc ("Hochschild") today announces that it has signed an 
agreement with Minera Andes Inc ("MAI") and its subsidiary, Minera Andes SA 
("MASA") regarding the $65 million project financing loan provided by Hochschild 
to the San José gold and silver mine in Argentina.  The parties have also agreed 
to restructure the 2004 shareholder loan agreement pursuant to which Hochschild 
and MAI lent approximately $50 million to the co-venture entity, known as Minera 
Santa Cruz ("MSC"). 
 
 Subject to final closing, which is expected to occur this week, the parties 
have agreed to a repayment schedule for the project finance loan and the 
shareholder loan over a maximum period of 8 years, with fixed interest rates of 
7% per annum. Future payments on both the shareholder loan and project finance 
loan may be accelerated based on mine performance and metal prices thus 
maximizing cash flows for both MAI and Hochschild. 
 
Hochschild has agreed to provide Minera Andes with the right to consent to 
certain extraordinary capital expenditures (not including regular sustaining 
CAPEX) in certain limited circumstances. 
 
 The San Jose mine, a co-venture between Hochschild and MAI, has been in 
operation since June 2007. Under the terms of letter agreements between the 
parties executed in October 2006, Hochschild alone provided the full amount of 
the project financing, totalling $65 million in instalments between October 2006 
and July 2007. On 17 March 2010 Hochschild filed a lawsuit against Minera Andes 
alleging the undue delay in the execution of formal loan documents and repayment 
of the loan by MSC. Under the terms of the settlement, Hochschild will 
discontinue the litigation filed in the New York State Supreme Court. 
 
 The lawsuit had no impact on the running of the San José mine, which is 
operated by Hochschild. The mine has a throughput capacity of 530ktpa and in the 
first half of 2010, produced approximately 2 million ounces of silver and 36 
thousand ounces of gold. 
 
 Ignacio Bustamante, CEO of Hochschild Mining said: "We are very pleased 
with the outcome of the negotiations and the ending of litigation. The 
properties and operation of MSC are located in a premium geological location in 
Argentina, neighbouring the Cerro Negro project which was recently sold by 
Andean to Goldcorp for US$3.6 billion.  We are confident that Hochschild and 
Minera Andes will now be able to focus their full efforts towards building a 
meaningful and constructive partnership to create further value for their 
respective shareholders through production at San Jose and further exploration 
in this very prospective area." 
 
_______________________________________________________________________________ 
 
Enquiries: 
Hochschild Mining plc 
 
Isabel Lütgendorf 
              +44 (0)20 7907 2934 
Head of Investor Relations 
 
Finsbury 
Faeth Birch 
                    +44 (0)20 7251 3801 
Public Relations 
_______________________________________________________________________________ 
 
About Hochschild Mining plc: 
Hochschild Mining plc is a leading precious metals company listed on the London 
Stock Exchange (HOCM.L / HOC LN) with a primary focus on the exploration, 
mining, processing and sale of silver and gold. Hochschild has over forty years' 
experience in the mining of precious metal epithermal vein deposits and 
currently operates four underground epithermal vein mines, three located in 
southern Peru, one in southern Argentina and one open pit mine in northern 
Mexico. Hochschild also has numerous long-term prospects throughout the 
Americas. 
 
                                    - ends - 
 
This information is provided by RNS 
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange 
   END 
 
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