Vancouver, B.C. – June 7, 2021 – Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (TSX Venture: PEX) (“Pacific Ridge” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that a 550-metre drill program has commenced at its Spius copper porphyry project (“Spius” or the “Property”). The Property is located 40 km southwest of Merritt, British Columbia, and is currently under option to Arctic Fox Ventures Inc. (AFX: CSE).
Drilling will test below the high-grade surface showing area, where grab samples of mineralized porphyry from float and a small outcrop exposure range from 1.11% Cu to 2.53% Cu, and will also test for mineralization at depth near hole SP-19-03, which ended in porphyry-style copper mineralization at a depth of 276 metres.
“It’s great news for Pacific Ridge’s shareholders“, said Blaine Monaghan, President and CEO of Pacific Ridge. “We maintain significant exposure to Spius, but the drill program is being funded by Arctic Fox. Further, this allows us to focus on the upcoming drill program at our flagship Kliyul copper-gold porphyry project. The fully-funded drill program at Kliyul will begin next month.”
About Spius
Spius was explored for its porphyry potential in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Exploration focused on a gossan area where work included an IP survey, trenching and 27 percussion and core drill holes. The drilling was shallow, with none of the drill holes exceeding 100 metres. Most of the records from this early exploration work have been lost, including the drill logs. The Property was optioned by Pacific Ridge in 2018 and surface exploration was completed, including soil sampling and an IP survey. In 2019, Pacific Ridge drilled 1,087 metres in four holes. The best mineralization was encountered at the bottom of hole SP-19-03, drilled at the northern end of the Copper Zone, encountering 51.8 m averaging .099% Cu (224.3 to 273 m), including 39.0 metres at .113% Cu. All drill holes encountered porphyry-style mineralization and alteration top to bottom, with variably anomalous Cu and Mo values.
Spius option terms
Arctic Fox can earn a 60% interest in Spius by making payments of $60,000, issuing 1,000,000 shares and spending $550,000 on exploration by December 31, 2022.
About Pacific Ridge
Our goal is to become one of the leading copper-gold exploration companies in British Columbia. Pacific Ridge’s flagship project is the advanced-stage Kliyul copper-gold project, located in the Quesnel Trough, approximately 50 km southeast of Centerra Gold’s Kemess project. Historic drilling at Kliyul encountered significant porphyry copper-gold mineralization, drill hole KL-15-34 returned 245 metres of 0.75% CuEQ1 (see Pacific Ridge press release dated December 2, 2020). The Company plans to launch a drill program at Kliyul this summer.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
“Blaine Monaghan”
Blaine Monaghan
President & CEO
Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd.Corporate Contact:
Blaine Monaghan
President & CEO
Tel: (604) 687-4951
www.pacificridgeexploration.com
