Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (PEX: TSX Venture; PEXZF: OTCQB) ('Pacific Ridge' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce that it has acquired an option to earn up to a 75% interest in the Chuchi South property ('Chuchi South' or the 'Property') from American Copper Development Corporation (ACDX: TSXV) ('ACDX') and prospector Ronald Bilquist ('Bilquist').
The Property adjoins Pacific Ridge's Chuchi porphyry copper-gold project ('Chuchi') on the south and west. Combined, Chuchi and Chuchi South (the 'Properties') are more than 16,000 hectares in size, which more than doubles the size of Pacific Ridge's current land position at Chuchi (6,100 hectares). The Properties host several compelling exploration targets, are road accessible and are located approximately 35 km northwest of Centerra Gold Inc.'s Mount Milligan mine within British Columbia's prolific Quesnel Trough.
The acquisition of Chuchi South materially increases the size of our land position in one of B.C.'s most prospective areas for new porphyry discovery,' said Blaine Monaghan, President & CEO of Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. 'Based on historic drill results, and the results of our 2022 exploration work at Chuchi, we believe that these Properties have excellent potential for new porphyry discovery. Pacific Ridge plans to drill test several targets at Chuchi and to further develop targets at Chuchi South this summer.'
About Chuchi South
At the adjacent Chuchi project, porphyry copper-gold mineralization at the BP Zone is less than 2 km outboard of the southeastern margin of the regional-scale Hogem batholith and immediately west of a north-striking fault, the Valley Fault. This same fault extends southward onto Chuchi South. The main porphyry copper-gold target at the Property is the Coho Zone, to the east of Valley Fault. The Coho Zone is hosted in diorite that is spatially associated with an east-west trending fault zone and is flanked by magnetic highs that appear to be related to marginal mafic-ultramafic dykes. Of the 47 grab samples collected in 2020 from Chuchi South, mainly in the Coho Zone, gold ranged from 0.005 to 16.15 g/t (average 1.41 g/t), and copper assayed from 0.04% to 10.2% (average 0.87%). Of the 162 grab samples collected in 2021, gold varied from 0.005 to 7.67 g/t (average 0.33 g/t), and copper assayed from 10 ppm to 16.35% (average 0.58%). The area of anomalous to high-grade mineralization at Coho measures approximately 450 m x 350 m.
One interpretation is that the Coho Zone, 4.5 km to the south of BP Zone, could be the offset eastern portion of BP Zone mineralization along the Valley Fault. Alternatively, 2D and 3D inversion results from the 2022 ZTEM survey flown by Pacific Ridge over Chuchi and Chuchi South suggest a west-dipping, stock shaped intrusion or intrusive complex underlies the Coho Zone aeromagnetic and surface geochemical anomaly.
Contact:
Tel: (604) 687-4951
Forward-Looking Information
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed 'forward-looking statements'. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling and other activities and events or developments that Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. ('Pacific Ridge') expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include plans to drill Chuchi and develop other targets at Chuchi South this summer. Although Pacific Ridge believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. These statements are based on a number of assumptions including, among other things, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions, that one of the options will be exercised, the ability of Pacific Ridge and other parties to satisfy stock exchange and other regulatory requirements in a timely manner, the availability of financing for Pacific Ridge's proposed programs on reasonable terms, and the ability of third party service providers to deliver services in a timely manner. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Pacific Ridge does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
AMERICAN COPPER DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION 
