Corriente Resources Inc.: Excellent Copper-Gold Metallurgy Results From Ecuador; Mirador Gold Recoveries as High as 83%.

Business Editors

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2002

Corriente (TSE:CTQ.): Results have been received from a series of metallurgical tests conducted by Resource Development Inc. (RDI) of Denver, Colorado. According to RDI President, Dr. D. Malhotra, the composite samples from the Panantza, Warintza and Mirador projects "show excellent copper and gold recoveries at a coarse grind indicating that the copper and gold are easily liberated during processing. These results are consistent with the simple mineralogy of the samples." The highlight of the testing is the Mirador project with an inferred resource of 218 Million tonnes at 0.73% copper and 0.25 g/t gold (representing a resource of 3.5 Billion pounds of copper and over 1.8 Million ounces of gold). Testing results indicate the potential to recover more than 75% of the gold values in actual milling operations, which would mean in excess of 1.35 million recoverable ounces at Mirador, could be attained by conventional flotation processing. These test results from Mirador support the previously announced scoping study which indicated that the inferred copper-gold resource would generate a Net Present Value of $244 Million U.S. with a pre-tax rate of return of 22% (for complete details see press release of Feb 14, 2002).

The flotation studies show copper recoveries in the range of 92 to 94% except in the case of Panantza where the presence of some oxide material in the composite dropped recoveries to 80 to 84%. However, most of the known Panantza mineralization is hosted in sulphides not oxides and as a result is not expected to have copper recovery problems. Full results are shown in the table below.

Table 1. Flotation Results (Rougher Concentrate Recovery)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Recovery(%)      Head Grade
                                   -------------------------------------
Sample            Grind,P80 Mesh    Cu      Au    % Cu     G/T Au
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIRADOR                  65        92.52   83.7   0.739     0.34
MIRADOR                 100        92.85   57.8   0.746     0.34
MIRADOR                 150        93.51   74.5   0.760     0.34
WARINTZA                 65        94.44   72.3   0.809     0.21
WARINTZA                100        94.21   71.3   0.804     0.21
WARINTZA                150        94.03   71.3   0.777     0.21
PANANTZA                 65        80.56   55.5   0.819     0.14
PANANTZA                100        82.15   54.1   0.811     0.14
PANANTZA                150        84.11   55.3   0.821     0.14

Following completion of the drilling currently underway at Mirador, Corriente will have an independent resource calculation completed on the project. The primary focus of the program at Mirador is to outline a resource that meets the threshold of interest of our global copper alliance partner BHP Billiton. However, should the resource calculation indicate a resource of less than 200 Million tonnes of 1% copper equivalent, then Corriente will present a request to have the project removed from the BHP Billiton joint venture and converted to a Corriente/Lowell project with a BHP Billiton net profits interest, as was recently carried out on the Panantza project (see News Release - April 4, 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

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