Challenger Announces Closing of Private Placement and New Coal Property Agreement

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - March 2, 2011) - Challenger Deep Resources Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CDE) -

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Challenger Deep Resources Corp. ("Challenger" or the "Company") announces that it has successfully closed its previously announced non brokered private placement consisting of 2,808,997 units for gross proceeds to the Company of $2,107,498 (the "Private Placement"). All of the units were sold to arm's-length investors at a purchase price of seventy-five cents per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase an additional common share of the Company at any time until February 28, 2014 and is exercisable at a purchase price of ninety cents per share. All securities issued in connection with the Private Placement are subject to a four month plus one day hold period.

Finder's fees of $140,175 cash and 180,249 warrants were paid were paid to eligible parties in connection with the Private Placement. 

The gross proceeds from the Private Placement will be used for the investigation, acquisition and exploration of Indonesian coal exploration projects and for general corporate purposes. The completion of the Private Placement is subject to final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange and release of a final portion of the subscription funds upon satisfaction of final documentation.

Exclusive Option to Purchase Additional East Kalimantan Coal Property

Challenger is pleased to announce that it has, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, PT Bestindo Energy, ("Bestindo") entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with the shareholders of CV Gita Pratama Lestari ("GPL"), which gives Challenger the exclusive option, for a period of 45 days, to enter into a Conditional Share Purchase Agreement (CSPA) to purchase all of the shares of GPL.

GPL Property

GPL is a private Indonesian company which holds certain coal rights in an area of approximately 100 hectares in close proximity to the Mahakam river. The GPL property covers the Balikpapan formation which is prospective for coal in this area. The Balikpapan formation is known to host thick seams of coal in the general area. The coal exploration rights to the GPL property are currently in the application stage.

A program of due diligence is to commence as soon as possible and will include surface reconnaissance and mapping, sampling and analysis in order to evaluate the potential of the GPL property. Challenger's exercise of the option to acquire GPL will depend upon the results of the initial due diligence program.

Terms of the CSPA

The MOU provides that, if Challenger elects to exercise its option, the terms of the CSPA, will include an advance royalty payment of $87,500 USD upon execution of the CSPA, a further advance royalty payment of $87,500 USD within two months of execution and payment of the remaining advance royalty of $1,575,000 USD once Bestindo has produced and sold the first 100,000 tons of coal. The CSPA will also provide that once Bestindo's production and sale of coal from the property exceeds 250,000 tons, it will pay to the vendors of the shares of GPL, an ongoing royalty of $7.00 USD per ton.

The Qualified Person (as defined by NI 43-101) responsible for the review and approval of the technical material presented in this news release is Mr. Andre Talaska, a director of Bestindo.

Challenger proposes to pay a finder's fee to an arm's length party in connection with the introduction of this acquisition opportunity, if Challenger elects to exercise its option. The finder's fee would be payable in common shares of Challenger in an amount calculated in accordance with the TSX Venture Exchange policies and subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

"The strategic location of this property provides a key component of our plan to establish a portfolio of projects with excellent coal transportation logistics", states Ranjeet Sundher, President of Challenger. "Our goal is to establish initial coal production and cash flow from smaller projects while we attempt to delineate and aggregate a larger resource base through both exploration and acquisition."

The Company also announces that it has granted to its investor communications consultant, Contact Financial Corp., options to purchase 200,000 common shares of the Company for a period of five years, exercisable at a price of seventy-five cents per share. Such options will vest in quarters over a 12 month period. The grant is subject to acceptance for filing by the TSX Venture Exchange.

For more information please visit Challenger's website at www.challengerdeep.ca.

READER ADVISORY

Statements in this press release may contain forward-looking information including, statements regarding expected exploration activities. Any statements that are contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Challenger. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, granting of exploration permits, surface access and other licenses from Indonesian regulatory authorities, continued exploration results, the establishment of commercial quantities of coal, availability of new acquisitions on commercially acceptable terms, the continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions in North America and in the Asia Pacific region. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that the proposed project acquisition or exploration programs or other project acquisitions will be completed or, if completed, will be successful.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Challenger does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by securities law.