VANCOUVER, May 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peru Copper Inc. (TSX:PCR/AMEX:CUP/BVL:CUP) ("Peru Copper" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Armando Arrieta who is joining the Company as Director of Peruvian Legal Affairs. Mr. Arrieta is a partner of Estudio Muniz, Ramirez, Perez-Taiman & Luna Victoria, a leading law firm in Peru, where he is in charge of the Mining and Environmental Law. He graduated from the Catholic University of Lima, Peru in 1987 with a law degree. In 1988 he earned a Master's Degree in International Law, also from Catholic University. In 1996, he earned a Masters of Business Administration from the Graduate School of Business Administration at Catholic University. Mr. Arrieta has worked for Southern Peru Copper Corp. and American Barrick Peru S.A., and also for the Ministry of the Presidency, the Ministry of Industries and the Ministry of Justice of Peru. He has also taught administrative law and international law at the Catholic University of Peru. Peru Copper is involved in the acquisition and exploration of potentially mineable deposits of copper in Peru. On June 11, 2003, Peru Copper entered into the Toromocho Option Agreement ("Toromocho Option") with Empresa Minera del Centro del Peru S.A. ("Centromin"), a Peruvian state-owned mining company, whereby Centromin granted the Company the option to acquire its interest in the mining concessions and related assets of the Toromocho Project. For further information please contact Patrick De Witt, Director of Investor Relations at (604) 689-0234 or . Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors - The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits U.S. mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms in this press release, such as "mineral deposit", that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit U.S. registered companies from including in their filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form F-1 Registration Statement, File No. 333-121527, which may be secured from us, or from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. Forward-Looking Statements: Statements in this release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors identified in the Peru Copper Inc. periodic filings with Canadian Securities Regulators. Such forward-looking information represents management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Peru Copper does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. Safe Harbor Statement under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented constitutes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to those with respect to the price of copper, the timing of completion of exploration activities and the determination and amount of estimated mineral resources involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of Peru Copper Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks related to the exploration and potential development of the properties owned by the company, risks related to international operations, the actual results of current exploration activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future prices of copper, silver, molybdenum and gold, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Form F-1 as on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Although Peru Copper Inc. has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: Peru Copper Inc. CONTACT: Patrick De Witt, Director of Investor Relations at (604) 689-0234 or

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