Cardero Resource Corp. | TSX: CDU | NYSE-A: CDY FEB 2012 Corporate Presentation October 2012 Carbon Creek Deposit A strategic portfolio of bulk commodities

Cardero Resource Corp. | TSX: CDU | NYSE-A: CDY

FEB 2012

Corporate PresentationOctober 2012

Carbon Creek Deposit

A strategic portfolio of bulk commodities

Cardero Resource Corp. | TSX: CDU | NYSE-A: CDY 2

Forward Looking & Cautionary Statements

This presentation contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the potential for the expansion of the estimated resources at Carbon Creek, the completion of a preliminary economic assessment for the Carbon Creek deposit, the potential for a production decision to be made regarding Carbon Creek the acquisition of the right to acquire an interest in the Sheini Hills project, the potential commencement of any development of a mine at Carbon Creek following a production decision, business and financing plans and business trends, are forward-looking statements. Information concerning mineral resource estimates may be deemed to be forward-looking statements in that it reflects a prediction of the mineralization that would be encountered, and the results of mining it, if a mineral deposit were developed and mined.

The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual results are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by forward looking statements contained in this presentation. Such statements are based on a number of assumptions which may prove incorrect, including, but not limited to, assumptions about the price of coal, iron ore and other minerals, the timing of the receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals, permits and authorizations necessary to implement and carry on the Company’s planned exploration and potential development program at Carbon Creek; the Company’s ability to attract and retain key staff, particularly in connection with the carrying out of a feasibility study and the development of any mine at Carbon Creek, the timing of the ability to commence and complete the planned work at Carbon Creek, the ongoing relations of the Company with its underlying lessors and the applicable regulatory agencies, and the timetables for the completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment at Carbon Creek and for any feasibility study that may be commissioned for Carbon Creek.

Accordingly, the Company cautions that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially and adversely from those set out in the forward-looking statements as a result of, among other factors, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, the Company’s inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, material adverse changes in economic and market conditions, changes in the regulatory environment and other government actions, fluctuations in commodity prices and exchange rates, the inability of the Company to raise the necessary capital for its ongoing operations, and business and operational risks normal in the mineral exploration, development and mining industries, as well as the risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company’s most recent Annual Information Form filed with certain provincial securities commissions in Canada and in the Company’s most recent Form 40F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this presentation or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by law. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or any person acting on its behalf are qualified by the cautionary statements herein. Scientific or technical information contained herein is derived from the independent NI43-101 technical reports which include more detailed information with respect to the Company’s properties, including the dates of such reports and the estimates included therein, details of quality and grade of each resource, details of the key assumptions, methods and parameters used in the resource estimates, a general discussion of the extent to which the resource estimates and the other estimates and projections included in the reports may be materially affected by any known environmental, permitting, legal, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues and you are urged to review such reports in their entirety.

The Company uses certain terms in this presentation, such as “resources,” “indicated” and “inferred” that the SEC’s guidelines strictly prohibit U.S. registered companies from including in their filings with the SEC. Accordingly, the Company’s disclosures regarding mineralization may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by US registered companies. The presentation contains information with respect to adjacent or similar mineral properties in respect of which the Company has no interest or rights to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any such properties, and that mineral deposits on adjacent or similar properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company’s properties. You are urged to consider closely the disclosure in the Company’s latest Form 40-F annual report, which may be secured from the Company, or from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.


Peace River Coalfield

Over $5 billion in recent mergers & acquisitions over the last 2 years from large cap companies

Carbon Creek is one of the last remaining coal deposits not controlled by a major mining corporation


Project Overview

CARBON CREEK METALLURGICAL COAL DEPOSIT

Advanced Mine Development project

Economically robust Prefeasibility Study

468 Mt Measured & Indicated Resources

Including 121 Mt initial Reserve base

20 year mine life with average peak

production

of 4.1 Mtpa

Existing infrastructure (power, port & rail)

Cardero holds 100% working interest • Subject to 25% NPI, payable to a private Alberta company


Prefeasibility Highlights

5

RESERVE & RESOURCE BASE Measured & Indicated resources increased to 468Mt from 166Mt Initial reserve estimate 121 Mt, 78Mt of clean coal sales over 20 yearsCOAL QUALITY & PRODUCTION RATE Average clean coal production rate of 4.1Mpta over 20 years Hard Coking Coal 60% of total production , 34% SSCC / PCI and 6% thermalROBUST PREFEASIBILITY STUDY ECONOMICS Average base case pricing assumption of $174/tonne (5-year average $187/t) NPV8 of $633M, 24% IRR (post-tax, post NPI) Undiscounted cash flow $2,132M over life of mineCAPITAL & OPERATING Preproduction Capital of $217M, full production of $475 Assumes equipment leasing Operating cost of $110/t FOB at full production


Property Overview

Approximately 40 km west of Hudson’s Hope - access via the Johnson Creek FSR

Immediately south of Williston Lake – adjacent to the Carbon Creek Inlet

Comprises Freehold and Coal Licence tenure


Utah Mines 1972 - 1973 Programs

Mobilization by barge via Carbon Creek

Drill site and geophysical logging in progress

Shallow-dipping coal

Tracked equipment


Carbon Creek Development

HISTORIC DATA 299 drill holes 6 bulk sample adits – 7500 tonne sample2010 - COALHUNTER 8 drill holes – 2000m2011 – CARDERO 71 drill holes – 22,560m Geotechnical and engineering work Completion of PEA2012 – IN PROGRESS Resource definition and expansion drilling Geotechnical, hydrogeological and gas

desorption test work Environmental baseline in progress Completion of PFS Commencement of BFS


Growing Resource Base

CONTINUED RESOURCE GROWTH

2012 drilling will provide data for resource update for the 2013 Feasibility Study

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1975 1976 2010 2011 2012

Unclassified

Inferred

Indicated

Measured

Reserves

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1975 1976 2010 2011 2012

Unclassified

Inferred

Indicated

Measured

Reserves

Initial43-101

PreliminaryEconomic

Assessment

PrefeasibilityStudy

Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred mineral resources shown in this table have been excluded from the PFS for the purposes of mine planning and financial evaluation. Mineral reserves are included in measured and indicated mineral resources. The Company cautions that 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 time the estimates were prepared, the estimates presented herein are considered reasonable. However, they should be accepted with the understanding that additional data and analysis available subsequent to the date of the estimates may necessitate revision. These revisions may be material. There is no assurance that any mineral resources, other than those already identified in the PFS as proven or

probable reserves, will ultimately be reclassified as proven or probable reserves. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.


Geology

SUMMARY Simple structural geology Flat to gently-dipping seams North-south faults define mining blocks 63 coal seams in total. 13 seams of economic interest – all of

which are easily correlated across the deposit and suitable for potential mining

Average seam thickness ranges from 1.5 to 2.8 metres


Geology


Scale Relative to Other Deposits

Carbon Creek Deposit

RELATIVE SCALE Sections presented at the same scale Carbon Creek is several times larger Size of Carbon Creek resource contributes to

flexibility of mining, potential production rate, potential LOM, consolidation of production

Multiple seams contribute to tailored product specification , potential production rate

Simple geology contributes to flexibility in mining methods, particularly underground


Mineability

THREE MINING METHODS Surface mining

– Truck & shovel: area and contour (backfilling)– Highwall

Underground Room and Pillar Absence of faults within mining blocks Mining production by method (ROM / Saleable)

– Surface mining: 70Mt / 45Mt (58%)

– Underground: 51Mt / 33 Mt (42%)

LOGISTICS Simple geology allows for concurrent surface

and underground mining Initial mining focused in north and central ROM coal conveyed and hauled to carbon Inlet

plant site; product loaded onto barge Coal barged 174 km to Mackenzie where rail

loadout will be located


Multiple Mining Methods

CONTOUR MINING HIGHWALL MINING

ROOM AND PILLAR OPEN PIT MINING


Mine Production

-$50

$0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

$400

0.000

1.000

2.000

3.000

4.000

5.000

6.000

7.000

8.000

9.000

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034

Million $

Mill

ion

Tons

Underground ROM Surface and Highwall ROM Total Clean Coal EBIDTA


16

Eleven Mile Creek

Current Camp

Ten Mile Creek

Nine Mile Creek Seven Mile Creek

CarbonInlet

Carbon Creek

PlantBarge Loading

North Surface Mine

Central SurfaceMine

CarbonInlet

Carbon Creek Mine Site

N


Barging Route


Coal Quality

COAL QUALITY HIGHLIGHTS

Average plant yield of ~65% 60% Hard Coking Coal, 34% Semi-Soft / PCI, 6% Thermal (near-surface oxidized coal) Coals are comparable to other coking coal products in northeast BC The coal has distinct advantages

1. Low phosphorous2. Low ash content3. Low HGI (50 – 60)

PRODUCT MOISTURE

%

ASH

%

SULPHUR

%

VOLATILEMATTER

%

CV(Kcal/kg)

FSI(Free

Swelling Index)

HARD COKING COAL <8% 5.5 – 7.0 < 0.90 20 - 30 7,600 - 8,000 6.0 - 7.0

SEMI SOFT / PCI <8% 2.5 – 5.5 0.85 26 - 30 7,600 – 8,000 2.0 – 4.0

BLENDED PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS


Economic Benefits and Community

Project generates 850 – 900 direct jobs at full production Local recruitment where skills available Training and skills development to support operation Housing mostly in Hudson’s Hope Coal barging will benefit Mackenzie Formal consultations with First Nations and surrounding

communities will commence shortly

Cardero Resource Corp. | TSX: CDU | NYSE-A: CDY Note: Estimated schedule. Actual times may vary.

Commenced Environmental Baseline Q2 -

2012

Phase I port allocation

Q2 - 2012

Coal license issued (414152) Q2 -

2012

Commence 2012 drill program

Q3 - 2012

Prefeasibility study

Q3 - 2012

Milestones

20

Recruitment of key personnel

Q4 – 2012

CN Rail agreement

Q4 – 2012

BC Hydro transmission route Q4 –

2012

Coal product finalization Q1 –

2013

Commence off-take negotiations Q1 –

2013

Additional port allocations Q2 –

2013

Complete feasibility study Q2 –

2013

Submit mine permit application Q2 –

2013

COMPLETED FUTURE


Summary

21

Large Resource Base with Simple Geology

First Coal Q4/2014

Average Production Rate ~4Mtpa

60% Hard Coking Coal

Average OPEX $110/t FOB

NPV8 $633M

Documents

Cardero Resource Corp. | TSX: CDU | NYSE-A: CDY FEB 2012 Corporate Presentation October 2012 Carbon Creek Deposit A strategic portfolio of bulk commodities