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Resource World Magazine interview with Brad Cooke, president and CEO of Canarc Resource Corp.

September 19, 2003

Taken from Resource World Magazine Interview – September 19, 2003 with Pat Beechinor interviewing Brad Cooke

Q. Canarc Resource Corp. is a well-established junior mining company, what is your background and how long have you been running the company?

A. I am a professional geologist, with a couple of university degrees and 28 years experience in the exploration and mining business. Canarc is the only company I have founded and run from day one. We have a great management team and finally we can see at Benzdorp and New Polaris the fruits of our labours over the years.

Q. As a gold mining executive and involved in the industry throughout your career what do you see for the price of gold over the rest of this year and into 2004?

A. Since we are now only two years into the first secular gold market since the 1970's, I think gold will seek a new year high ($390 to 400) soon and then back off to consolidate its gains for the rest of the year. However, the first quarter 2004 looks very bullish for a run to $420 and I am looking for a high of $450 next year.

Q. Canarc has been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange for 15 years and has twice had a stock price of over $5.00 what is the focus currently of the company to build shareholder value again?

A. Canarc shareholders enjoyed substantial gains during the gold market in the mid 1990's but the stock effectively took a five-year holiday during the subsequent bear market. Management utilized this time period to maintain our key assets and minimize our shareholder dilution. Now that gold is on the rise once again, our strategy to maximize shareholders gains is simple; develop the existing assets, particularly the potentially huge Benzdorp gold discovery in South America. We feel this asset alone could have a ten-fold impact on the company and its shares.

Q. The Company just recently announced a significant new discovery on the Benzdorp property in Suriname, South America. What do you see as your short to mid-term goals for that project?

A. We are just now completing the first 30-hole drill program at Benzdorp but already the first 8 holes have each intersected gold mineralization from top to bottom. Clearly, our focus short term will be to release the results of the next 20 holes and then finance a 100-hole program starting as soon as possible. That should get us to an initial resource estimate next year. We will continue drilling with several drill rigs so long as we get good results because Benzdorp could easily be a multi-million oz discovery.

Q. And the long-term goals for Benzdorp do you see taking on a major as a partner? What are you thinking at this point even though it may be early in the process?

A. Ultimately, we think it could be too big for Canarc and a major company may end up wanting it. That could also be very good for our shareholders. It really is too early to speculate what Benzdorp may be worth and who might want to buy or develop it. Suffice to say that it is just the type of "elephant "target majors are looking for. Keep in mind that each of the top five gold companies produce between 2.5 and 7.5 million oz per year each! That means these major companies each needs to find or buy a Benzdorp every year just to stay even with their production.

Q. Tell us a bit more about Canarc's core asset, the New Polaris mine in northern British Columbia. Do you see Canarc as a gold producing Company and if so in what period of time?

A. The New Polaris mine is Canarc's first significant gold find and also our core asset. We have invested over US$ 12 million on exploration since 1990 to discover a 1.3 million oz gold resource below and beyond the old mine workings. A high grade, past producing underground mine, New Polaris is now on track to become Western Canada's next gold producer. Scoping, engineering and metallurgical studies are now underway to assess the costs of developing a 65,000 oz/yr mine over the next three years.

Q. Canarc is fairly unique in the industry. It is considered a junior mining company but unlike most junior who survive primarily on financing exploration programs Canarc has not only exploration but also development properties and most interestingly revenues from the Bellavista project in Costa Rica. Can you tell us how Canarc came to be in a fairly fortunate situation as a junior?

A. We recognized many years ago that some cash flow, no matter how small, was needed to help pay the annual administration costs of the company. For ten years, now, we have enjoyed annual cash payments from our interest in the Bellavista mine project in Cost Rica. We also developed the small Sara Kreek placer mine in 1995 and received cash flow from it until the gold price went down. Cash flow not only helps to pay the annual bills, it reduces dilution of the shares.

Q. What do you see for the Company over the next year and what could new shareholders look forward too?

A. Our focus clearly is on drilling the Benzdorp discovery to see just how big it really is. The nice thing is that with a tangible asset in the New Polaris gold deposit, investors are only paying US$ 18 per resource oz at the current share price and that means all the upside at Benzdorp is free. This is what sets Canarc apart from the crowd of junior companies.

For more information, please contact Gregg Wilson at tel: (604) 685-9700, fax: (604) 685-9744, email [email protected] or visit our website, www.canarc.net. The TSX Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.