SUNPOWER CORPORATION

Kelowna,BC                                                                                                                                                                                                         June 19, 2003

OTCBB Symbol: SNPW

NEWSRELEASE

 

SunPower's Mexican Subsidiary Receives Investment Grade Rating for ProposedEuropean Bond Issue

 

SunPower Corporation's (OTC:BB:"SNPW"; Berlin Stock Exchange:"SJP")wholly owned subsidiary, Recursos Minerales Cardenal, S de R.L. de C.V. ("RCM")is in receipt of a valuation conducted by Secunda Effekten AG ("Secunda")of Munich, Germany in which Secunda has graded RCM's pending European bondissue as BBB investment grade. The European bond issue will not be offered toresidents of the United States.

 

Ifsuccessfully placed, the proceeds of the proposed US$10 million bond issue willbe used by RCM to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of MineraReal de Cosala, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican corporation thatowns legal and beneficial title to the La Verde copper-silver mine, locatedapproximately 21 kilometers from the town of Cosala, in the state of Sinaloa,Mexico. The proceeds from the bond issue will also be used to expand andmodernize the La Verde property which currently consists of three formerlyproducing silver/copper mines, a working mill and more than 5,000 hectares (5miles by 3 miles) of mineral claims with excellent local access near deep-seaports. Over the past decade the mine output and mill throughput have averaged inthe order of 200 tonnes per day ("-tpd"). Approximately 2 milliontonnes have been mined from the three past producers at an average grade ofabout 300 grams Silver, 1% Copper and minor gold credits.
 

Theinvestment grade rating was in part based on an independent technicalfeasibility study prepared by Ms. Robyn Storer, MBA, B.Sc Hons. (Geology). Ms.Storer's analysis projects the expansion of the existing mining and processingto an initial rate of 450-tpd rising to 600-tpd in the second quarter followingthe restart of production. The proposed mining schedule is anticipated toaverage 210,000 tonnes per annum over the first 5 years of production. Ms.Storer has over 20 years experience in the mining and metals sector. She spent 5years working as an exploration geologist with BP Minerals in Australia. Aftercompleting an MBA in Geneva, Switzerland, Robyn moved to London and worked forover ten years as an equity analyst with Credit Lyonnais, HSBC and Credit SuisseFirst Boston, where she assisted in selling Diamond Fields Resources to Canadiannickel company Inco for $C4.2 billion. For the past four years, Robyn has workedin New York and London for Barclays Capital covering the institutional debtmarkets for the mining, metals and steel industries. Ms. Storer's reportconcludes that "the proposed acquisition represents a viable commercialopportunity and should be pursued".

 

SunPower, now doing business as Cardinal Minerals, has recently dedicated itself tothe acquisition of revenue producing mining assets through the use of projectfinancing. By mitigating raw material supply risk; process risk and market risk,the Company believes that it can fund the acquisition of targeted miningproperties without reliance upon a corporate equity issue. To qualify as atargeted acquisition, a mining property must demonstrate: a minimum of threeyears historic operations with positive cash flow; low cost production as adefense against lows in the market cycles; potential for expandable mineralreserves and the ability to increase production and cash flow through modernmining techniques. The Company firmly believes that it's proposed acquisitionof the silver-copper mine in Sinaloa, Mexico meets all of these criteria.

 

 
**LegalNotice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements**
 

Thispress release contains "forward-looking statements", includingforward-looking statements as that term is defined in Section 27A of the UnitedStates Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical areforward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans,expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements inthis press release include statements regarding:
-  the        Company's anticipation that it will be able to locate and acquire        mineral resource properties, including the mining Property in Sinaloa        Mexico, that meet the criteria established by the Company;the        Company's anticipation that the Mining Property located in Sinaloa,        Mexico will meet the Company's eligibility criteria or, even if it        does, that it should prove to be economically viable on a going forward        basis;the        Company's anticipation that it can successfully raise the capital        necessary to acquire and upgrade the Sinaloa, Mexico, mine, or any other        mine, with or without an equity offering.
Itis important to note that the Company's actual outcomes may differ materiallyfrom those contained in the forward-looking statements contained in this pressrelease. Although the Company believes that the beliefs, plans, expectations andintentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be noassurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to beaccurate. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company'squarterly report filed on May 15, 2003 on Form 10-QSB for the quarter endingMarch 31, 2003 and the Company's other periodic reports filed fromtime-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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FORFURTHER INFORMATION:

Mr.Rolland Vetter, President, Ph. 604-871-9031

Mr.Andrew Schwab, Secretary, Ph. 250-764-8118

Email:laschwab@shaw.ca**