Cardero Announces Appointment of Angus Christie to Chief Operating Officer Position

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 1, 2012) - Cardero Resource Corp. ("Cardero" or the "Company") (TSX:CDU)(NYSE Amex:CDY)(FRANKFURT:CR5) is pleased to announce the appointment of Angus Christie as Chief Operating Officer ("COO") of the Company effective June 1, 2012. Mr. Christie is a highly respected senior executive with over 25 years international experience in coal mining operations, resource and reserve management, mine development and exploration and strategic planning.

In his career, Angus has been involved in several projects from exploration and feasibility through to mine commissioning. His operational experience has been focused on both underground and surface operations extending from deposits which are structurally complex to the more benign geological formations found at the Company's Carbon Creek asset. This includes five underground and open pit mines in South Africa and the 32 million tonne per annum Cerrejon open pit mine in Colombia where he played an integral role in improving coal recoveries, illustrating the very real operational value that Angus has brought to coal mines throughout his career.

As the COO of Cardero, Angus's immediate responsibilities will be to work with senior management and regional stakeholders to advance the Company's Carbon Creek Project from the Preliminary Economic Assessment stage through to the completion of a Feasibility Study with the objective of submitting a Mine Permit Application in 2013.

His previous experience with multi-seam, metallurgical coal deposits will be of significant benefit at Carbon Creek where the Company anticipates mining and blending several seams to ensure product optimization.

On his appointment, Mr. Christie stated, "I believe that Carbon Creek deposit is a valuable metallurgical coal asset that is proving itself to be one of the largest contiguous deposits in the Peace River region. I am looking forward to developing this unique deposit so that we can realize its significant potential."

Company President & CEO, Michael Hunter, remarked, "I believe Mr. Christie's operational experience compliments a skilled and dedicated team that is motivated to unlock the value of the Carbon Creek asset and delivering that profitability to our shareholders."

Mr. Christie most recently employed as Manager Strategy and Resources for Anglo Coal (Peace River Coal). In this capacity, Angus was part of the senior management committee responsible for the exploration program management, coal resource and reserve management, project management, growth strategy and joint venture project management.

Mr. Christie's holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours), a Master of Science and a Doctorate from the University of Natal, and a Diploma in Mining Engineering from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Mr. Christie has been granted 300,000 options exercisable at a price of CAD 1.16 for a period of two years.

About Carbon Creek

The Carbon Creek deposit is an advanced metallurgical coal development project located in the Peace River Coal District of northeast British Columbia, Canada. The project has a current (October 1, 2011) resource estimate of 166.7 million tonnes of measured and indicated, with an additional 167.1 million tonnes of inferred, ASTM Coal Rank mvB coal. The Company released results of an independent PEA, including an updated resource estimate) in December 2011, which estimates a post-tax, undiscounted cash flow of $3.1 billion (on a 75% basis). The PEA contemplates production of 2.9 million tonnes of saleable metallurgical coal products per annum (see NR11-20, December 12, 2011).

The Company cautions that the PEA is preliminary in nature, and is based on technical and economic assumptions which will be evaluated in further studies. The PEA is based on the current (as at October 1, 2011) Carbon Creek estimated resource model, which consists of material in both the measured/indicated and inferred classifications. Inferred mineral resources are considered too speculative geologically to have technical and economic considerations applied to them. The current basis of project information is not sufficient to convert the mineral resources to mineral reserves, and mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Accordingly, there can be no certainty that the results estimated in the PEA will be realized.

About Cardero Resource Corp.

The common shares of the Company are currently listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol CDU), the NYSE-Amex (symbol CDY) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (symbol CR5). For further details on the Company readers are referred to the Company's web site (www.cardero.com), Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and United States regulatory filings on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

CARDERO RESOURCE CORP.

Michael Hunter, CEO and President

Cautionary Note Regarding References to Resources and Reserves

National Instrument 43 101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource estimates contained in or incorporated by reference in this press release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM") Standards on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council on November 14, 2004 (the "CIM Standards") as they may be amended from time to time by the CIM, and in the Geological Survey of Canada Paper 88-21 entitled "A Standardized Coal Resource/Reserve Reporting System for Canada" originally published in 1988.

United States shareholders are cautioned that the requirements and terminology of NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards differ significantly from the requirements and terminology of the SEC set forth in the SEC's Industry Guide 7 ("SEC Industry Guide 7"). Accordingly, the Company's disclosures regarding mineralization may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7. Without limiting the foregoing, while the terms "mineral resources", "inferred mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "measured mineral resources" are recognized and required by NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards, they are not recognized by the SEC and are not permitted to be used in documents filed with the SEC by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, and US investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a mineral resource will ever be converted into reserves. Further, inferred resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred resources will ever be upgraded to a higher resource category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of a feasibility study or prefeasibility study, except in rare cases. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant "reserves" as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit amounts. In addition, the NI 43-101 and CIM Standards definition of a "reserve" differs from the definition in SEC Industry Guide 7. In SEC Industry Guide 7, a mineral reserve is defined as a part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the mineral reserve determination is made, and a "final" or "bankable" feasibility study is required to report reserves, the three-year historical price is used in any reserve or cash flow analysis of designated reserves and the primary environmental analysis or report must be filed with the appropriate governmental authority.

This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.

NR12-10