BHP Billiton Invests $1,000,000 into Corriente.

Business Editors

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25, 2002

Corriente Resources (TSE:CTQ.) announces that subject to regulatory approval, it has agreed to a non-brokered private placement of $1,000,000 with its global copper exploration alliance partner, BHP Billiton. Corriente will issue 740,740 units to BHP Billiton at $1.35 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one warrant, entitling BHP Billiton to purchase one common share for $1.35 within two years of the closing date. The subscription agreement determines the unit purchase price as being equal to 110% of the average of the closing prices of the Company's common shares on the TSE for the 10 trading days ending two trading days prior to the Closing.

This private placement, added to the brokered private placement of $2,500,000 announced on March 8, 2002, will total more than the 25% dilution over a six month period permitted by the Toronto Stock Exchange without shareholder approval. Accordingly, Corriente will seek shareholder approval of this BHP Billiton private placement at its annual general meeting on May 22, 2002. The proceeds from this transaction will be held in escrow and released to Corriente following receipt of shareholder approval on May 22, 2002.

Corriente is a Canadian-based junior resource exploration company that has recently announced a global exploration alliance with BHP Billiton. Corriente focuses its operations on copper and copper-gold projects at the advanced drilling stage. The Company's main activity is the advanced exploration of copper prospects within the Corriente Copper Belt joint venture with BHP Billiton and Lowell Mineral Exploration, as well as advanced copper-gold prospects at Mumbwa, Zambia. The Corriente Copper Belt is a copper porphyry district that extends over an area at least 80 km north-south and 40 km east-west in Southeast Ecuador. To date, diamond drilling has outlined four separate porphyry deposits: Panantza, Mirador, San Carlos and Warintza. These four deposits are part of a series of copper porphyry targets contained within the district.

BHP Billiton is a new global leader in the world's natural resources industry. Created from a merger between Australian-based natural resources company BHP Limited and Anglo-South African miner Billiton Plc, BHP Billiton occupies industry-leader, or near leader, positions in aluminium, metallurgical coal, seaborne steaming coal, copper, ferro-alloys, iron ore and titanium minerals. BHP Billiton also has substantial worldwide interests in oil, gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), nickel, diamonds and silver. BHP Billiton employs about 58,000 people in more than 30 countries and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

Kenneth R. Shannon, President

Disclosure statements as required by the TSE and National Instrument 43-101 are available at our website www.corriente.com.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.