NEWS RELEASE

ECUADORIAN MINERALS CORPORATION

January 14, 2000

Trading: TSE.EMC

ECUADORIAN ANNOUNCES FINAL DRILL RESULTS AT VETASPATA, PERU
UNDERGROUND WORK COMMENCES AT BEROEN, ECUADOR
NEW DIRECTORS APPOINTED

Ecuadorian Minerals Corporation (“EMC”) has received final assay results for the remaining seven drill holes which form part of a first phase, core drilling program recently completed at the 100%- held Vetaspata gold property in southeastern Peru. Results for the first twelve drill holes were released earlier (see news release dated December 13, 1999).

The overall drill program consisted of nineteen core drill holes totaling 1,728m and drilled over an initial target area covering approximately 800m by 550m within EMC’s 60 sq km property block (see attached map). Drill depths ranged between 32m and 120m and holes were widely spaced (50m to 280m apart) in order to assess the lateral extent of multiple stacked, gold mineralized horizons or “mantos” from which high grade gold values were obtained during underground and surface sampling programs carried out by EMC. The manto bodies intersected during the drilling program remain open to the northwest and southeast (along strike) and to the northeast and southwest (up and down dip) and locally are folded and displaced by faulting. The broad lateral extent of the manto horizons, their multiple stacked nature, the range of gold assay results obtained and the presence of additional mantos (as yet not drill tested) some 3km to the southeast, are factors considered extremely encouraging by EMC for additional exploration success on the property.

The results from the final seven drill-holes, (VC 13 to 19) show, with the exception of previously reported drill-hole VC 6, a comparable range of assay values to those received from the previously reported twelve drill-holes (VC 1-12) (see December 13, 1999 news release). A high value of 9.6 g/t gold over a 0.3m intercept (with visible gold) is reported in VC-17, which also contains a total sequence of seven mineralized mantos, the largest number of mantos encountered so far in any one drill hole at Vetaspata. Of great interest is drill hole VC-18 where a 0.37m intercept carried 10.4 g/t gold in the host quartzite with strong fracturing, located 3m above the nearest manto. This value indicates the potential for additional gold mineralization outside of the known manto zones and requires additional follow-up work. Correlation of the mantos in the southwestern area (VC 16 to 19) with the previously identified mantos in the mined area to the northeast is not possible at this time due to the current lack of sufficient drill hole and underground data in that region.

The table below lists results from all of the drill holes in the program and, where possible, based on EMC’s current interpretation, provides a correlation of the relative sequence of mantos between drill holes commencing with number 1 as the uppermost manto. Drill hole VC-6 provided the highest grade intercepts encountered during the program including manto #2 with an interval of 1.8m grading 14.4 g/t gold (including 0.8m at 24.4 g/t gold) at a depth of 15m and manto #3 intersected 0.8m carrying a grade of 28.8 g/t gold at a depth of 32.7m. A 2m by 1m rock panel sample of manto #1 material collected from outcrop located close to the collar of drill hole VC-6 yielded 24.0 g/t gold.

* Indicates Drill results previously reported in December 13, 1999 news release.
All assay values are uncut.

Analysis of gold grades from individual 2m by 1m rock panel samples previously collected from the Rosario and Calisaya adits by EMC (see attached map), which test manto #1 and whose uncut values averaged 17.9 g/t gold over 54 meters and 39.7 g/t gold over 32 meters respectively (15.9 g/t and 17.6 g/t respectively when gold values are cut to 30 g/t), shows that it is necessary to average groups of four to five adjacent samples in order to approximate the average grade of manto exposed in the adits. Sample values in the two adits range between 3.6 and 184 g/t gold reflecting the extent of individual sample- to-sample variation. Analysis of surface rock panel gold values from samples taken by EMC at Vetaspata produces a similar result.

As is common in many known, high grade gold deposits, drilling as an exploration tool is useful only in detecting and outlining the containing structures or horizons that host gold mineralization. Because of the small size of a drill sample, particularly where much coarse, visible gold is present, as is the case at Vetaspata, EMC considers that meaningful grade evaluations can generally only be made by use of large volume, systematic, underground sampling programs which will form part of EMC’s proposed future work program as discussed below.

Drilling was carried out by the Peruvian subsidiary of Canadian-based Bradley Drilling. Sample preparation and assaying were undertaken by Bondar Clegg’s Lima and Vancouver facilities respectively, with analysis by conventional fire-assay methods. Duplicate analyses of selected Bondar Clegg samples were completed by ALS Geolab in Lima and show acceptable reproducibility considering the nature of the gold mineralization. Standards (with known gold values) and blanks were included for quality control purposes.

Future Work Program at Vetaspata

This planned work program was previously discussed in detail in the December 13, 1999 news release but is also summarized here in the interest of maintaining continuity of the data reported to date.

Following the encouraging results from the first phase drilling program, together with the results obtained by EMC’s underground and surface sampling programs, a second phase exploration program is currently being planned to begin during February of this year. Funding for this work is expected to be provided by the exercise of approximately 4.6 million in-the-money warrants at a price of Cdn$0.60 for a total of approximately US$1.8 million.

The program will focus on obtaining an accurate assessment of grade for various portions of the manto system and will involve continuous small scale (0.5m length or less) rock panel sampling of two well exposed surface manto outcrops in the mine area; underground drifting (utilizing local labor) to reach and bulk sample the manto horizons intersected so far in several of the drill-holes; and the drilling of multiple drill holes from the same location in the areas of the known workings for comparative purposes. Additional duplicate samples will also be taken from existing core and previously prepared reject samples in order to make a comparison with results generated to date.

In addition detailed mapping and sampling, with a view to identifying drill targets, will be carried out on the recently discovered series of stacked mantos at Campanilla, located within EMC’s group of concessions, some 3km to the southeast of the drilled area (see news release dated December 13, 1999). The discovery of the Campanilla area is considered highly significant by EMC since it indicates potential for a major district-wide gold system in the Vetaspata-Campanilla region. The 3 km long zone between Vetaspata and Campanilla also remains to be explored as do other areas reported to host similar mantos further east, close to the Bolivian border.

BEROEN, ECUADOR

In September 1999, EMC completed a successful drilling campaign at the 100% held epithermal, Beroen gold/silver deposit which outlined two significant areas of gold/silver mineralization: the Alejandra and Dorada Zones. Based on in-house calculations by EMC’s designated “Qualified Person”, Dr. Barry Rayment, a director of and consultant to EMC, estimated a preliminary inferred resource, with mineralization still open in several directions, in the order of 9.4 million tonnes at 5.3 g/t gold and 43 g/t silver containing approximately 1.6 million ounces of gold and 13 million ounces of silver. A program of underground work involving three short tunnels or adits, began earlier this month on the property. One adit, of approximately 30m length, will be excavated within the Alejandra Zone and two, 25m length adits will be driven in the Dorada Zone. The purpose of the work is to collect additional geological, sampling and metallurgical data in order to better evaluate the high grade mineralized zones. Underground work is expected to be completed during March and results will be reported as they become available.

In addition to the underground work, a CSAMT geophysical survey, a technique successfully used at Meridian Gold’s geologically-similar El Peñon deposit in Chile, will be carried out during February/March. A second phase drilling program (approximately 3,000m) is expected to commence in the spring upon completion of the geophysical survey.

New Directors

At the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held in December 1999, Mr. Walter Wehrli of Zurich, Switzerland was elected to the Board of Directors of EMC. Mr. Wehrli is presently Investment Advisor for Gold 2000 LTD, a gold equity fund and previously was a Fund Manager with UBS Asset Management in Zurich from 1994 to 1998, specializing in gold equities. He is a graduate of the School of Economics and Business Administration in Zurich.

As part of the strategic alliance agreement announced in December 1999, between EMC and Bema Gold Corporation (“Bema”), Mr. Tom Garagan, Vice President of Exploration for Bema has been appointed to the Board. Mr. Garagan graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1980 with a BscH in Geology and has worked in Canada, the southwest USA, South America, East and West Africa and Russia. As part of the Bema Group he was instrumental in the discovery of the Cerro Casale gold/copper deposit in Chile, the gold deposits on the Lo Increible property in Venezuela and the Imperial project (now held by Glamis Gold) in California.

Previous director, Mr. Robert Henseler of Zurich, Switzerland did not stand for re-election at the Annual General Meeting in order to focus his efforts on his present position with CAT Finance in Zurich. The Board thanks Mr. Henseler for his constructive advice and assistance over the past four years and wish him continued success with CAT Finance.

Stephen J. Kay, President and CEO

The Toronto Stock Exchange neither approves nor disapproves the information contained in this News Release.

For additional information, contact Linda North at Tel: (480) 483-9932 or Fax: (480) 483-9926.

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