Mr. Henk van Alphen reports

CARDERO ANNOUNCES NEW NI 43-101 RESOURCE ESTIMATE FOR THE CURRENT CARBON CREEK JOINT VENTURE PROPERTY

Cardero Resource Corp. has released a maiden National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate for the current Carbon Creek metallurgical coal project held by the Carbon Creek joint venture of 290 million tonnes of measured and indicated, and 161 million tonnes of inferred ASTM rank mvB coal, as at Nov. 1, 2014. The current Carbon Creek joint venture property comprises 30,390 hectares, having been recently expanded by 77 per cent following acquisition of prospective coal licence applications in September, 2014.

Resource summary

• Measured and indicated resources are 290 million tonnes (Mt) of metallurgical coal.
• Inferred resources are 161 Mt of metallurgical coal.
• New geological model benefits from inclusion of 23,600 metres of drilling completed in late 2012.
• A total of 61 coal seams and subseams are considered of potential economic significance and are reported as resources.
• Sixty-six per cent of measured and indicated resources are classified as potentially surface minable.
• Sixty-three per cent of the measured and indicated resources and 85 per cent of the inferred resources are classified as hard coking coal (HCC).

The accuracy of resource and reserve estimates is, in part, a function of the quality and quantity of available data and of engineering and geological interpretation and judgment. Given the data available at the effective date of this resource estimate, the estimates presented are considered reasonable. However, they should be accepted with the understanding that additional data and analysis available subsequent to the effective date of the estimate may necessitate revision. These revisions may be material. There is no guarantee that all or any part of the estimated resources will be recoverable. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and there is no assurance that any mineral resources will ultimately be reclassified as proven or probable reserves. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Technical report summary

The resource estimate is contained in an NI 43-101 technical report entitled "Technical Report -- Carbon Creek Coal Property, British Columbia, Canada," dated Dec. 11, 2014, and prepared by Norwest Corp. for Cardero. Cardero Coal Ltd., formerly Coalhunter Mining Corp., a wholly owned coal exploration and development subsidiary of Cardero, is the entity which holds the interest in the Carbon Creek property.

Cardero Coal holds a 75-per-cent joint venture interest in the Carbon Creek property, which is located in the Peace River coal field, and currently consists of four coal licences and 25 applications for coal licences. The property totals 30,590 hectares, comprising 26,910 hectares of applications and 3,680 hectares of licences. Any coal licences issued pursuant to the applications will be included in the property. Cardero Coal's interest is held through a joint venture agreement with the Carbon Creek Partnership (CCP). The JV, known as the Carbon Creek JV, controls the property, and Cardero Coal is the manager of the JV. The JV agreement provides that the CCP interest is a carried interest which requires Cardero Coal to finance the exploration, development, construction and operation of the mine, and the CCP is to receive 25 per cent of the net proceeds of production from the property after Cardero Coal has recovered 100 per cent of its investment, including all exploration and development expenditures, as well as the costs of acquiring the licences.

From Dec. 21, 2011, to May 30, 2014, the JV also held an interest in 10 Crown-granted district lots (CGDL or freehold) via a coal lease between Cardero Coal and the Peace River Partnership. Cardero Coal withdrew from the lease on May 30, 2014, and the freehold ceased to form part of the property. Accordingly, as all previous disclosures of coal resources and reserves for the Carbon Creek property by Cardero have included this additional 2,600 hectares of Freehold, such previous resource and reserve estimation is no longer valid and should not be relied upon. The estimated resource reported in this news release is the initial resource estimate for the property as now constituted.

For coal deposits, mineralization refers to coal development and coal seam stratigraphy. The coals occurring within the property are thought to occur in the upper to middle sections of the Gething formation. Based on the available data and existing geological interpretation, Norwest has determined coal mineralization to be of the moderate geology type.

Norwest validated all drill core intercepts from Utah Mines Ltd. and Cardero Coal drill programs for use in the geologic model for the property. The model dataset was rigorously checked for errata and inconsistencies using statistical data evaluation techniques. Maps and cross-sections were evaluated as an iterative process during the finalization of the model prior to calculation of the current coal resource for the property.

Norwest personnel were directly involved in the field sampling and management of Cardero Coal drilling programs and the qualified person for the report conducted site inspections during these exploration campaigns. The 2010 Cardero Coal twin-hole verification drilling program was able to replicate the results of the earlier Utah drilling program from the 1970s, allowing much of these data to be used with current drill data in the geological model for the property.

Coal quality

The coal deposition found on the property is typical of the Gething formation, consisting of abundant coal seams, some showing favourable metallurgical properties. Although there are numerous seams throughout the property, 61 identified coal seams are of sufficient thickness and extent to include in the geologic model and report as coal resources. The average thickness and undiluted raw coal quality for the 61 coal seams within the measured plus indicated coal resource are outlined in the table.

                      AVERAGE THICKNESS AND UNDILUTED RAW COAL QUALITY OVER RESOURCE AREA

                                                    Coal quality (air-dried basis)

Resource type  Average thickness  Moisture    Ash  Sulphur  Volatile matter  Fixed carbon  Calorific value  FSI
                              (m)       (%)    (%)      (%)              (%)           (%)        (kcal/kg)

Surface                     1.28      1.62  17.53     0.93            24.95         57.52            6,716  3.0
Underground                 1.56      1.16  18.90     0.79            23.88         57.21            6,636  4.0

Values shown in the table represent coal without out-of-seam dilution (OSD). Run-of-mine (ROM) coal, including OSD, can be beneficiated using size-specific density and froth flotation separating processes to improve coal quality. Coking properties such as free swelling index (FSI) and dilation are typically improved through beneficiation as well. The washability testing and metallurgical analyses described in the report show this to be applicable to coals from the property.

The 2011 and 2012 exploration programs conducted by Cardero Coal included a select number of large-diameter (six inches/150 millimetres) cores for the purpose of obtaining representative washability and carbonization data. One bulk sample per seam was obtained, with each sample ranging from 250 kilograms to 325 kg of coal. Each bulk sample, representing 16 of the key seams exhibiting metallurgical characteristics, was subjected to a comprehensive washability study program. Applying Limn simulations to a process design typifying the washing of high-value coking coals, a plausible product for each seam was developed. With this information, a physical simulated seam product (SSP) was assembled in the laboratory. These SSPs were then subjected to a wide range of quality tests including petrographics, plasticity and sole-heated oven testing. A summary of key test results are listed in the table, composited as either hard coking coal (HCC) or semi-soft coking coal (SSCC).

                                    SUMMARY OF COKING COAL CHARACTERISTICS

Resource type  Moisture     Ash  Sulphur  Volatile matter  Volatile matter   FSI    CSR(1)      VR(2)     P(3)
                 (%, ad) (%, ad)  (%, ad)          (%, ad)        (%, ddmf)                (Ro max)  (%, ad)

HCC                0.71    4.33     0.71            25.98            27.43   6.5  62.00       1.17    0.056    
SSCC               1.12    4.95     0.93            29.64            31.58     3  42.00       0.94    0.033    

(1) Coke strength after reaction (SSCC represents seam 40 only).
(2) Vitrinite reflectance.
(3) Phosphorus content.

Resource estimate

An initial resource estimate for the property was completed in accordance with the procedures and criteria of Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) Paper 88-21 as required by NI 43-101. The coal resources were reported from a 3-D block model generated using MineSight software. Numeric seam identifiers, coal volumes and resource limiting criteria were coded into the 3-D block model from gridded surface files representing the extent of the surface and underground coal resource in accordance with GSC Paper 88-21 guidelines. The mineral resource estimates for surface and underground reported for the current Carbon Creek geologic model are outlined in the table. The effective date of the resource statement is Nov. 1, 2014.

A measured and indicated coal resource of 290 Mt has been identified on the property. The Carbon Creek deposit type is further defined as having 191 Mt of surface resource and 99 Mt of underground resource in the measured and indicated categories. The table breaks these resources into surface and underground tonnes.

    CLASSIFICATION OF RESOURCE -- CARBON CREEK PROPERTY 

Deposit type  ASTM coal rank  Measured  Indicated  Inferred
                                   (Mt)       (Mt)      (Mt)

Surface              mvB-hvB       145         46        82          
Underground              mvB        63         36        79          
Total                    mvB       208         82       161

Exploration to date on the property has identified 61 separate coals seams that are developed sufficiently enough to be considered of potential economic significance. The 61 seams include 43 parent coal seams and 18 seam splits.

The geology type of the coal on the property is determined to be moderate based on Geological Survey of Canada Paper 88-21 guidelines. The coal occurrence at the property comprises a lower group of coals, primarily of medium-volatile bituminous rank, that exhibit metallurgical characteristics of hard coking coals. The upper group of Carbon Creek coals are medium- to high-volatile bituminous in rank and exhibit metallurgical characteristics of semi-soft coking coals.

For full details with respect to the assumptions underlying the current resource estimate presented herein, readers are urged to review the full report, which will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days.

Qualified person

Lawrence D. Henchel is the qualified person, as defined by NI 43-101, who is responsible for the report that forms the basis for the disclosure in this news release. Mr. Henchel has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

Lawrence D. Henchel, PGeo (Alberta), PG (Utah), registered member (SME), is the vice-president, geologic services, of Norwest and has over 31 years experience in surface and underground coal mining geology, specializing in exploration and evaluation of coal and mineral properties. He has held positions in operating mines as well as participating in regional exploration projects. He is skilled in computerized modelling and reserve analysis of single and multiseam coal deposits and has worked on projects in numerous countries, including the United States, Canada, India, South America, the Middle East, Mongolia and southern Africa.

Extraordinary general meeting results for 2014

At the company's 2014 extraordinary general meeting held in Vancouver, B.C., on Dec. 18, 2014, shareholders approved, by a 97-per-cent margin, the following matters:

• The issuance to affiliates of Robert C. Kopple of 43.6 million share purchase warrants, having an exercise price of five cents and a term of seven years, in connection with the one-year extension of the maturity date of an existing secured note held by a lender and the increase in the existing credit line granted to the company by the lenders;
• The reduction in the exercise price, from 9.5 cents to five cents, of 28,359,066 outstanding share purchase warrants held by the lenders;
• The reduction in the exercise price, from 10 cents to five cents, of 38,417,398 share purchase warrants held by, or to be issued to, the lenders.

For additional details with respect to these transactions, see news release dated Sept. 22, 2014.

The issuance of the additional share purchase warrants and the repricing of the existing or to be issued warrants are, in each case, subject the acceptance thereof filing thereof by the Toronto Stock Exchange.

We seek Safe Harbor.