NEWS RELEASE

ECUADORIAN MINERALS CORPORATION

April 8, 1999

Trading: TSE.EMC

ECUADORIAN ANNOUNCES PRIVATE PLACEMENT FINANCING

Ecuadorian Minerals Corporation (“EMC”) is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement with private investors which will provide funds to the Company of Cdn$2,225,000 (approximately US$1.5 million). Under the agreed-upon terms, the Company will issue a total of 4.45 million units at a price of Cdn$0.50 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one share purchase warrant exercisable for 3 years at Cdn$0.60 for the first year, Cdn$0.80 for the second year and Cdn$1.00 for the third year. A finder’s fee commission of 4% of gross proceeds is payable in units (178,000 units) to an arm’s-length third party with respect to this funding. Closing of the placement is expected to occur by the end of April. Proceeds will be used for drilling at the Vetaspata gold project in Peru and the Beroen gold-silver project in Ecuador, for exploration activities in Peru and Ecuador and for working capital for general corporate purposes. The financing and the finder’s fee commission are subject to regulatory approval.

A brief summary of EMC’s Vetaspata and Beroen drill targets is provided below:

Vetaspata, Peru

Located about 300 km east of Cuzco in southeastern Peru, EMC has discovered, during an initial sampling program, high-grade gold mineralization at surface and in underground workings within a stacked series of flat-lying horizons ("mantos") contained within sediments (see previous news release dated December 8, 1998). To EMC’s knowledge, this style of gold mineralization has not been previously identified in southeastern Peru. 87 rock panel samples from the 3 known mantos in the immediate mine area averaged 16.6 g/t gold over an average width of 1.0m. Extensive sampling of underground workings by EMC reported 54m at 17.9 g/t gold (uncut) in the Rosario adit and 32m at 39.7 g/t (uncut) in the Calisaya adit. Individual gold values within the underground workings range from 3.6 to 184.0 g/t and visible gold is present in several samples. Extensive Spanish colonial workings (both open pit and underground) are located within 500m of the adits and appear to have mined the host-rock sediments but not the mantos. Additional exploration work is required to define the target of the Spanish workings.

The initial primary area of interest, as outlined so far, covers 700m by 500m as part of a 60 sq km property position. Surface cover in the area is extensive and the full extent of the mineralized zone is not known at this time, although other gold-bearing mantos have been identified on the property.

EMC intends to carry out a 1,500m core drilling program comprising 8 to 10 drill holes which is expected to start in late June or early July. This drill program will evaluate the continuity of the mantos away from the underground workings and will also test for additional manto horizons at depth below the known mantos.

Beroen, Ecuador

Located in southwestern Ecuador, the property covers an extensive, epithermal gold/silver system (the Beroen deposit) that persists for a strike length of approximately 1.8 km, is some 800m wide and spans approximately 1,000 vertical meters (see previous news releases dated June 10 and October 14, 1998). High-grade, bonanza-style gold/silver mineralization occurs within veins, silicified zones and breccias. In addition, based on EMC’s surface geochemical sampling results, there is potential for bulk-mineable, multi-million ounce, precious metal mineralization within the volcanic sequence.

In 1997, Rio Tinto carried out extensive surface rock geochemical sampling and completed approximately 6,000 meters of core drilling but only partially tested 3 of the 9 known mineralized zones. Rio Tinto’s drill results included intercepts starting at surface of 34.5m at 12.3 g/t gold and 109 g/t silver (LLP-9) and 27m at 10.4 g/t gold and 103 g/t silver (LLP-10). A formal gold resource or reserve estimate was not completed by Rio Tinto.

A total of over 900 surface rock samples collected by Rio Tinto from the 9 known mineralized zones within the overall Beroen deposit gave an average value of 2.5 g/t gold, with a high of 113 g/t gold. On the undrilled San Luis concession, 2 major mineralized zones (designated Minerva and Alejandra) along a 350m trend averaged 11.1 g/t gold and 49 g/t silver from 65 surface rock samples. The San Luis concession, located immediately north of the high-grade intercepts in LLP-9 and 10, was not drilled by Rio Tinto because drill permits had not been acquired for that concession at the time of their drilling program.

Recent EMC surface rock grid sampling on the San Luis concession indicates that the Minerva and Alejandra zones form part of a much larger area of alteration and mineralization covering approximately 850m by 750m which is still open to the north, northwest and northeast. Highly anomalous gold, antimony, mercury and arsenic values within the volcanics in this area appear to result from “leakage” of possible significant precious metal mineralization located at depth. Geophysical data (chargeability and resistivity) generated by Rio Tinto also indicate the presence of an extensive altered and mineralized zone within this same area.

Approximately 800m to the southwest of the San Luis concession, in the Dorada zone on the Canoas concession, Rio Tinto collected 130 rock samples within a 200m by 200m area which averaged 6.3 g/t gold (with a high of 159 g/t). Again a major chargeability and resistivity geophysical anomaly was identified by Rio Tinto in this area. Three vertical drill holes, on the margins of the sampled area, did not adequately test the subvertical, mineralized, high-grade structures in this zone. Vertical drill hole LLP-16, however, reported 40.5m at 1.7 g/t gold and 12 g/t silver (including 13.9m at 3.1 g/t gold and 15 g/t silver) within the host-rock volcanics but did not cut the high-grade, sub-vertical mineralized structures.

EMC is planning a 1,500m core drilling program comprising 8 to 10 drill holes to test the high-grade mineralized structures at San Luis and Dorada together with the area of highly anomalous geochemical values on the San Luis concession. Drilling is expected to start this summer following completion of the Vetaspata drill program.

EMC presently has 45.6 million common shares on an issued and outstanding basis and 47.2 million shares on a fully diluted basis.

Pursuant to the financing, the common shares and the warrants (together with the shares deliverable upon the exercise of the warrants) have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under such act or compliance with an applicable exemption from such registration requirements.

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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