Corriente Granted a Controlling Interest in the San Carlos Project, Ecuador.

Business Editors

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 4, 2002

No Back-In Rights Retained by BHP Billiton At San Carlos

Corriente Resources (TSX:CTQ.TO) has received notice from BHP Billiton that the San Carlos project falls below their threshold of interest as defined in the global alliance joint venture and will be separated from the existing copper-gold joint venture in Ecuador. BHP Billiton has 30 days to make an election on the San Carlos prospect to retain a 30% participating interest or revert to a royalty interest, as was done at the Panantza project in April. The royalty interest for all the projects that are under the global alliance agreement has been renegotiated from a 15% Net Profits Interest to a 2% Net Smelter Royalty (NSR) effective August 30, 2002. Additionally, Corriente now has the option at any time to purchase half (50%) of the NSR for $2 Million U.S. J. David Lowell continues to hold 10% of Corriente's interest in the Ecuador projects as defined under the terms of his exploration management agreement with Corriente.

As currently outlined by exploration drilling, the San Carlos project contains an inferred resource of approximately 230 Million tonnes at a grade of 0.85% copper with potential for expansion (for details see press release dated June 26, 2001). The San Carlos prospect lies 4 kilometres east of Corriente's Panantza prospect, which has an indicated resource of 148 Million tonnes at 0.82% copper, and 0.1 g/t gold as calculated by Geospectrum Engineering (for details see press release of June 26, 2001).

The back-in right of BHP Billiton is now terminated on both the San Carlos and Panantza prospects and Corriente plans to move ahead with joint venture or purchase proposals with interested parties. "Acquisition of the San Carlos project, in addition to the 100% owned Panantza project, is a major milestone in our plan to position Corriente as one of the premier, highly levered copper investments in the junior exploration sector. We believe we can generate significant shareholder value from the joint venturing or selling of these assets in addition to our ongoing exploration focus through our global exploration alliance with partner BHP Billiton," commented Corriente President and CEO, Kenneth R. Shannon.

The next step in Corriente's plan has been to provide notice to BHP Billiton that the Mirador prospect in Ecuador does not meet the defined threshold of interest as outlined in our global exploration alliance and therefore is also eligible to be separated from our copper-gold joint venture in Ecuador. BHP Billiton is currently reviewing the notice.

Corriente is a Canadian-based junior resource exploration company that has 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

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