Minefinders Mandates BNP Paribas in Dolores Financing

"This important mandate forms a key component of the Dolores project financing," said Mark Bailey, President and CEO of Minefinders. "The facility is expected to have an 8.5 year maturity and will provide the Company with considerable flexibility in its determination of the optimal debt and equity components of the project's capital funding. We are delighted to have the support of such a pre-eminent bank in moving the Dolores project forward."

The Company is now optimizing a 18,000 tonnes/day mine plan proposed by Kappes, Cassiday & Associates, while moving ahead with the construction of the required mine infrastructure. The Company expects to complete the optimization work by early February, and most of the detailed engineering by March 2006. The optimized study will incorporate new detailed engineering, direct cost quotes, equipment utilization rates, metallurgical recoveries, and revised after-tax project economics.

Construction of the Dolores mine is targeted to begin early in the second quarter of 2006, with commissioning, start-up, and full production expected to be achieved by the second half of 2007.

Mark Bailey MSc., P.Geo. is the "qualified person" with overall responsibility for the Dolores project and is responsible for the contents of this news release. The Dolores project technical studies are available for inspection online at www.sedar.com.

MINEFINDERS CORPORATION LTD.

Mark H. Bailey, President and Chief Executive Officer

Safe Harbor Statement under the United States Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995: Statements in this release that are forward-looking, including statements relating to the size, and potential growth in size, of the Company's mineral reserves and resources, the economic feasibility of, and commencement of mine construction and mining operations at, the Company's Dolores Project and the timing of the further exploration and development of the Company's mineral projects, are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors identified above and in the Company's periodic filings with the Ontario Securities Commission and the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. The Company does not intend to update this information and disclaims any legal liability to the contrary.

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors: The SEC permits mining companies to disclose only those mineral deposits that can be extracted or produced economically in their filings with the SEC. This news release uses the term "inferred resource" that the SEC guidelines prohibit from inclusion in filings with the SEC.

Minefinders Corporation Ltd. (TSX:MFL) (AMEX:MFN)