Pacific Ridge to Acquire Portfolio of U.S. Copper Porphyry Projects
Pacific Ridge to Acquire Portfolio of U.S.
Copper Porphyry Projects
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 8, 2025) - Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (TSXV:
PEX) (OTCQB: PEXZF) (FSE: PQWN) ("Pacific Ridge" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that
the Company entered into option agreements with Bronco Creek Exploration Inc. ("BCE") on January 7,
2025 (the "Effective Date"), a wholly owned subsidiary of EMX Royalty Corporation ("EMX") (NYSE:
EMX) (TSXV: EMX) (FSE: 6E9), to acquire a portfolio of copper and gold projects located in the United
States (the "Agreements").
Highlights:
Exclusive option to acquire a 100% interest in four projects: the Mineral Hill gold project ("Mineral
Hill"), located in Wyoming; the Red Star copper project ("Red Star"), located in Utah; the Ripsey
West copper project ("Ripsey West"), located in Arizona; and, the Royston copper project
("Royston"), located in Nevada (each a "Project", together, "Projects").
Diversification of the Company's existing porphyry copper project portfolio to create one of North
America's leading copper exploration companies with projects located in premier copper mining
districts in America and Canada.
Plans to unlock shareholder value by spinning out Pacific Ridge's gold projects in the Yukon, the
Mariposa gold project ("Mariposa"), the Eureka Dome gold project ("Eureka"), and the Gold Cap
project ("Gold Cap"), and the Mineral Hill gold project ("Mineral Hill") to create a new North
American gold focused exploration company.
"We are very pleased to have come to an agreement with EMX to acquire this portfolio of highly
prospective copper and gold projects located in the U.S.,"
said Blaine Monaghan, President and CEO
of Pacific Ridge.
"With the option to acquire Red Star, Ripsey West, and Royston, we have diversified
our existing copper porphyry project portfolio to become one of North America's leading copper
exploration companies. All of these projects are road accessible, where we can conduct exploration
year-round, and are located in mining-friendly states. In fact, according to the Fraser Institute's 2023
annual mining survey, Utah was the top jurisdiction in the world, Nevada was 2nd, and Arizona was
7th. Further, BCE's exceptional technical team have already developed exploration models and
targets that are ready to be drill tested."
The addition of these Projects to Pacific Ridge's portfolio expands the Company's footprint into areas
that include some of the world's largest porphyry copper mines and complement Pacific Ridge's existing
portfolio of porphyry copper projects in B.C.: the Chuchi copper-gold project, the Kliyul copper-gold
project, the Onjo copper-gold project, the RDP copper-gold project, and the Redton copper-gold project.
The Company now owns or controls eight porphyry copper projects in premier copper mining districts in
America and Canada (see Figure 1).
Figure 1
Location of Pacific Ridge's Copper Projects
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About the Projects
Mineral Hill
Mineral Hill is over 902 hectares in size (comprising 19 patented lode and placer claims, and 177
unpatented federal lode mining claims) and is located in eastern Wyoming in the Black Hills gold
province, which has produced more than 40 million ounces of gold from the Homestake gold mine
alone
1
(see Figure 2). Tertiary alkalic intrusive centers and domes follow an 80 km-long WNW-trending
belt across the Black Hills. Low- to intermediate-sulfidation epithermal gold-silver mineralization is
currently being mined 18 km east of Mineral Hill at Coeur Mining, Inc.'s Wharf mine. Targets at Mineral
Hill include high-grade epithermal gold veins and disseminated and stockwork veined porphyry gold-
copper mineralization. The Company believes Mineral Hill represents a fully intact upright alkalic
porphyry gold-copper system and near-surface epithermal transition zone that is associated with a 3 x 2
km composite alkaline intrusive centre. Known gold-copper mineralization at historical Interocean mine
is related to cross-cutting quartz-sulfide veins in a 300-m-long north-south trending corridor that has been
drill-tested to about 200 m vertical depth and remains open in every direction. Epithermal gold target
areas lie 600-750 m west and southwest of the Interocean zone.
Figure 2
Mineral Hill Location
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Red Star
Red Star is approximately 3,005 hectares in size (398 unpatented federal lode mining claims) and is
adjacent to the Star mining district, Utah (See Figure 3). Surface alteration and mineralization suggests
the presence of a porphyry copper system beneath post-mineral cover composed of volcanics and
alluvium. Polymetallic (Pb-Zn-Ag-Cu-Au) fissure veins, mantos, and local Zn-rich skarn are hosted in
east-tilted and fault-repeated Paleozoic carbonate rocks in the Star mining district. These fissure veins
may be analogous to fissure veins found in the periphery of the Bingham and Tintic districts. Red Star
also shares a similar regional geophysical signature with Bingham and Tintic porphyry copper deposits,
each lying within ENE-trending aeromagnetic domains considered to be representative of Tertiary
batholiths (see Figure 3). The timing of Tertiary magmatism in Utah youngs southward such that the age
of an undiscovered porphyry system at Red Star would likely be ~34-27 Ma.. At Red Star, known
polymetallic fissure veins and replacement mantos, and a copper-zinc skarn occurrence (Moscow mine),
define a WSW-trending vector towards a 2.0 x 1.5 km porphyry target area with anomalous geophysics
(Spartan IP-MT and UAV magnetics). The primary target zone starts about 1.5 km west of the Moscow
mine skarn.
Figure 3
Red Star Location
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Ripsey West
Ripsey West is over 2,161 hectares in size (comprising 36 unpatented federal lode mining claims and
eight Arizona state leases) and is located 23 km south of the Ray Mine in Arizona (see Figure 4). The
principal target at Ripsey West is a high-grade Laramide porphyry copper system. An ENE-trending
target area measures ~3.5 x 1.5 km and has potential for both hypogene mineralization and supergene
enrichment.
The Ripsey West exploration model is for a porphyry copper system that's been episodically faulted and
tilted 90° eastward and buried under alluvial cover in a half graben basin. The porphyry target area lies
between a 2-km-long ENE-trending stock-shaped magnetic low feature in the west thought to be
associated with a Laramide pluton, and a magnetic high feature in the east demarking the faulted basin
edge.
A zone of QSP alteration and D-veins associated with ENE-trending Laramide porphyry dykes
extends for 900 m east outside the basin margin, and base metal mineralization and veins in historical
drilling continue for ~2 km. These provide a vector towards a porphyry core in the west under the post-
mineral alluvium.
Figure 4
Ripsey West Location
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Royston
Royston is over 1,855 hectares in size (comprised of 227 unpatented federal lode mining claims) and is
located 30 km northwest of Tonopah in Nevada (see Figure 5). The principal target at Royston is a
porphyry copper system within a 2.8 x 1.8 km target area which contains a significant zone of quartz-
sericite-pyrite "QSP" alteration and mineralization A five-hole reconnaissance reverse circulation drill
program completed in late 2023 confirmed the presence of a strongly westward tilted and fault
segmented porphyry of significant scale containing intense QSP alteration and base metal
mineralization. Two of the holes were cased and are ready to be followed up with diamond core tails
under the active drill permit at Royston.
Figure 5
Royston Location
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Gold Project Spin Out
In H1, 2025, Pacific Ridge will look to unlock shareholder value by spinning out the Company's gold
projects in the Yukon (Mariposa, Eureka Dome, and Gold Cap) and Mineral Hill to create a new, North
American gold focused exploration company (see Figure 6).
Figure 6
Location of Pacific Ridge's Gold Projects
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Terms of the Agreements
Subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), Pacific Ridge can acquire a 100%
interest in the Projects by making an initial payment in the aggregate amount of US$240,000 and issuing
a total of 800,000 common shares (on a post-Consolidation basis, as described and defined below) and
making certain option payments, incurring exploration expenditures and issuing common shares as
summarized below:
Option Payments:
Project
60 days of
Effective Date
Anniversary Date of Option Agreement
1
st
2
nd
3
rd
4
th
5
th
Red Star
US$60,000
US$10,000
US$15,000
US$15,000
US$15,000
US$125,000
Royston
US$60,000
US$10,000
US$15,000
US$15,000
US$15,000
US$125,000
Ripsey West
US$60,000
US$10,000
US$15,000
US$15,000
US$15,000
US$125,000
Mineral Hill
US$60,000
US$10,000
US$15,000
US$15,000
US$15,000
US$125,000
Exploration Expenditures:
Project
Anniversary Date of Option Agreement
1
st
2
nd
5
th
Red Star
US$400,000
US$1,600,000
US$2,250,000
Royston
US$2,250,000
Ripsey West
US$2,250,000
Mineral Hill
US$2,250,000
Issuance of Common Shares:
Project
3 business days
following
TSXV
Approval
Anniversary Date of Option Agreement
1
st
2
nd
3
rd
4
th
5
th
Red Star
200,000
100,000
100,000
100,000
125,000
750,000
Royston
200,000
100,000
100,000
100,000
125,000
750,000
Ripsey West
200,000
100,000
100,000
100,000
125,000
750,000
Mineral Hill
200,000
100,000
100,000
100,000
125,000
750,000
Upon option exercise, each Project will be subject to a 3% production royalty ("Royalty"). The Royalty can
be reduced to 2% by making two payments totaling US$4.0M (US$1.0M for the first 0.5% and US$3.0M
for the second 0.5%). The Projects are also subject to annual advanced royalty payments that begin on
the first (1
st
) anniversary after Pacific Ridge has exercised its option to acquire a Project. A payment of
US$25,000 is due on the 1
st
anniversary and increases by US$10,000 each year, up to a maximum of
US$75,000 per year per Project.
In addition, each Project is subject to the following milestone payments in the event of completion of a
preliminary economic assessment ("PEA"), pre-feasibility study ("PFS") and/or feasibility study ("FS")
respectively as follows:
Project
Milestone
PEA
PFS
FS
Red Star
US$500,000
US$1,000,000
US$2,000,000
Royston
US$500,000
US$1,000,000
US$2,000,000
Ripsey West
US$500,000
US$1,000,000
US$2,000,000
Mineral Hill
US$500,000
US$1,000,000
US$2,000,000