Pacific Ridge Announces Initial Mineral Resource Estimate for Kliyul Copper-Gold Project
Pacific Ridge Announces Initial Mineral
Resource Estimate for Kliyul Copper-Gold
Project
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 5, 2025) - Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd.
(TSXV: PEX) (OTCQB: PEXZF) (FSE: PQW) ("Pacific Ridge" or the "Company") is pleased to
announce the initial mineral resource estimate ("MRE") for the Kliyul Main Zone ("KMZ"), just one target
area at its 100% owned Kliyul copper-gold project ("Kliyul"), located in the prolific Quesnel terrane in
Northcentral B.C. (see Figures 1 and 2).
Highlights
The KMZ MRE compares favourably with other recently reported MREs for B.C. porphyry deposits;
it was also delineated from just one mineralized zone.
KMZ hosts 334.1 million tonnes ("Mt") grading 0.33% copper equivalent ("CuEq"), 0.15% copper,
0.26 g/t gold, and 0.95 g/t silver in the Inferred Mineral Resource category (see Table 1).
2.42 billion pounds CuEq which includes 1.11 billion pounds of copper, 2.74 million ounces of gold
and 10.22 million ounces of silver in the Inferred Mineral Resource category (see Table 1).
Mineralization at KMZ remains open for expansion within and beyond the resource reporting shell
used to restrict the resource model (see Figure 3).
"The initial mineral resource estimate for KMZ is an important milestone for the Company and its
shareholders,"
said Blaine Monaghan, President & CEO of Pacific Ridge
. "We now belong to a select
group of B.C. copper exploration and development companies that have a significant mineral
resource. I am confident that once investors compare the KMZ resource to those of our peers, they will
recognize the value that Pacific Ridge currently represents."
Figure 1
: Location of Kliyul and Pacific Ridge's Other Porphyry Copper-Gold Projects
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Figure 2
: Kliyul Target Areas
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Table 1
KMZ MRE (CuEq)
Cutoff
(CuEq%)
Tonnes
CuEq%
Cu%
Au g/t
Ag g/t
CuEq Mlbs
Cu Mlbs
Au Oz
Ag Oz
0.15
383,300,000
0.31
0.14
0.24
0.91
2,615
1,212
2,920,000
11,270,000
0.20
334,100,000
0.33
0.15
0.26
0.95
2,422
1,110
2,740,000
10,220,000
0.25
239,200,000
0.37
0.16
0.30
1.04
1,950
861
2,280,000
7,980,000
Notes for Table 1
1
.
The effective date of the Mineral Resource estimate is July 31, 2025.
2
.
The Mineral Resource was estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum(CIM), Definition Standards for
Mineral Resources and Reserves, as prepared by the CIM Standing Committee and adopted by CIM Council.
3
.
There has been no metallurgical testing on Kliyul mineralization. The Company estimates copper recoveries (CuR) of 80%, gold
recoveries (AuR) of 65%, and silver recoveries (AgR) of 65% based on the reported recoveries from Mount Milligan.
4
.
The mineral resource is constrained within a pit shell using metal recoveries of Cu 80%, Au 65% and Ag 65%, an exchange rate of 1.30
CAD:USD, mining cost of C$3.5/t, process cost of C$7.0/t, G&A costs of C$3.0/t,
pit slopes of 45 degrees and metal prices of
$Cu =
US$4.60/lb, $Au = US$2,600/oz., Ag = US$30.00/oz. A fixed bulk density of 2.77 t/m3 was used for the estimation of tonnes.
5
.
CuEq = Cu% + (0.6697*Au g/t) + (0.0077*Ag g/t).
6
.
Factors: 22.0462 = Cu% to lbs per tonne, 0.032151 = Au g/t to troy oz per tonne, and 0.032151 = Ag g/t to troy oz per tonne.
7
.
The CIM definitions were followed for the classification of Inferred Mineral Resources. inferred blocks were assigned for blocks with one
drill hole within 150 m.
8
.
Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the
mineral resources will be converted into mineral reserves in the future. The MRE may be materially affected by considerations including,
but not limited to, permitting, legal, sociopolitical, environmental issues, market conditions or other factors.
9
.
All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate. Totals may not sum due to rounding as required by reporting
guidelines.
Figure 3
KMZ Pit Shell and Unconstrained Block Model at a 0.20% CuEq Cutoff
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Next Steps
File a NI 43-101 Technical Report for the KMZ MRE within 45 days of this press release.
Infill drilling and resource expansion drilling at KMZ; drill testing other Kliyul target areas.
Metallurgical test work.
Kliyul Highlights
100% owned by Pacific Ridge, the Company has invested more than ~$14.0 million and drilled
more than 19,000 m at Kliyul since 2020.
Kliyul is over 90 km
2
in size and is located in the prolific Quesnel terrane close to existing
infrastructure, ~8
km to the Omineca Resource Road and a 230 kV high-voltage power line.
A six-kilometre long porphyry copper-gold trend, comprised of favourable geology, geochemistry,
alteration, and geophysics, exists at Kliyul but KMZ has been the focus since 2021.
Drilling by Pacific Ridge has increased the mineralized extents of KMZ tenfold. Pre-2021, the
mineralized extents measured ~350 m E-W x ~150 m N-S x ~400 m vertical depth. After the last
round of drilling, the known mineralized extents measure ~760 m E-W x ~600 m N-S x ~650 m
vertical depth. KMZ remains open to the North, West, East, Southeast, and at depth.
The best drilling result in 2021 was 316.7 m of 0.79% CuEq
1
and 1.17 g/t AuEq
2
(0.30% copper,
0.70 g/t gold and 2.17 g/t silver) within 566.7 m of 0.51% CuEq
1
or 0.75 g/t AuEq
2
(0.20% copper,
0.44 g/t gold and 1.39 g/t silver) from KLI-21-037 (see news release dated January 31, 2022).
The best drilling result in 2022 was 328.0 m of 0.64% CuEq
1
or 0.95 g/t AuEq
2
(0.25% copper and
0.57 g/t gold) within 526 m of 0.49% CuEq
1
or 0.74 g/t AuEq
2
(0.25% copper, 0.57 g/t gold and
1.25 g/t silver) from KLI-22-050 (see news release January 18, 2023).
The best drilling result in 2023 was 305.5 m of 0.59% CuEq
1
or 0.87 g/t AuEq
2
(0.23% copper,
0.51 g/t gold and 1.22 g/t Ag) within 540.3 m of 0.44% CuEq
1
or 0.65 g/t AuEq
2
(0.19% copper,
0.36 g/t gold and 0.65 g/t silver) from KLI-23-054 (see news release August 23, 2023).
Drill hole KLI-23-069, the last hole of the 2023 drilling program, returned 45.0 m of 0.58% CuEq or
0.86 g/t AuEq (0.38% copper, 0.28 g/t gold, and 2.20 g/t silver) within 570.0 m of 0.27% CuEq or
0.40 g/t AuEq (0.14% copper, 0.18 g/t gold, and 0.99 g/t silver)(see news release dated January 9,
2024). The 45 m interval, at 584 m downhole depth, is the deepest mineralized interval ever
encountered at Kliyul and provides a northward and down-plunge vector for a higher-grade
porphyry centre at KMZ.
Results of a 2024 ZTEM survey suggest that most of the KMZ porphyry system remains hidden and
untested to the north.
1
CuEq = ((Cu%) x $Cu x 22.0462) + (Au(g/t) x AuR/CuR x $Au x 0.032151) + (Ag(g/t) x AgR/CuR x $Ag x 0.032151)) / ($Cu x 22.0462).
2
AuEq = ((Au(g/t) x $Au x 0.032151) + ((Cu%) x CuR/AuR x $Cu x 22.0462) + (Ag(g/t) x AgR/CuR x $Ag x 0.032151)) / ($Au x 0.032151).
Commodity prices:
$Cu = US$3.25/lb, $Au = US$1,800/oz., and Ag = US$20.00/oz.
There has been no metallurgical testing on
Kliyul mineralization. The Company estimates copper recoveries (CuR) of 84%, gold recoveries (AuR)
of 70%, and silver recoveries (AgR) of 65% based on the average recoveries from Kemess Underground, Mount Milligan, and Red Chris.
Factors: 22.0462 = Cu% to lbs per tonne, 0.032151 = Au g/t to troy oz per tonne, and 0.032151 = Ag g/t to troy oz per tonne
.
The technical information contained within the Kliyul Highlights section has been prepared under the
supervision of, and reviewed and approved by. Danette Schwab, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration of
the Company, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Estimation Methods
The mineral resource estimate was completed using HxGN MinePlan
TM
3D software and includes the
estimation of copper, gold and silver grades into a block model (20x20x20 m) using ordinary kriged
(OK) method within a 0.1 g/t Au probability shell. Composites from a minimum of two drill holes was
required for a block to be interpolated with a metal grade.
Prior to estimating block grades, potentially anomalous outlier grades were identified and their influence
on the grade model was controlled during interpolation through outlier restriction method.
The 2 m
composites were reviewed for each metal and a restricted outlier strategy was employed to limit the
influence of extreme metal grades to 60 m from a composite location.
The threshold grade for gold was
4.5 g/t, 1% for copper and 10 g/t for silver.
A base case resource constraining pitshell was built using HxGN MinePlan
TM
3D and inputs of metal
prices (US$2600/oz Au, US$4.60/lb Cu and US$30/oz Ag), metal recoveries (80% Cu, 65% Au and
65% Ag), mining costs of C$3.50/t, processing costs of C$7.0/t, G&A costs of C$3.0/t and pit slopes of
45⁰.
To assess the sensitivity to metal prices, additional shells were built using gold prices between
US$2000/oz and US$3200/oz, and additional copper price of C$4.10/lb and silver price of C$24.00/oz.
Inferred Mineral Resources were assigned if a block was within 150 m of a drill hole.
Qualified Person
The mineral resource estimate was completed by Susan Lomas, P.Geo. of Lions Gate Geological
Consulting Inc. with assistance from Bruce Davis, PhD, FAusIMM, each of whom is an Independent
Qualified Person under NI43-101 standards.
The technical information related to the mineral resource estimate in this news release has been
reviewed and approved by independent QP Susan Lomas, P.Geo.
LGGC completed an audit of the project drill hole database, a review of the QAQC data for the assay
results and a visit to the project site and determined the drill hole data to be of sufficient quality to support
the estimation of mineral resources.
About Pacific Ridge
A Fiore Group company, Pacific Ridge's goal is to become British Columbia's leading copper
exploration company. The Kliyul copper-gold project, located in the prolific Quesnel terrane close to
existing infrastructure, is the Company's flagship project. In addition to Kliyul, Pacific Ridge's project
portfolio includes the RDP copper-gold project, the Chuchi copper-gold project, the Onjo copper-gold
project, and the Redton copper-gold project, all located in B.C. The Company would like to acknowledge
that its B.C. projects are in the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Gitxsan Nation,
McLeod Lake Indian Band, Nak'azdli Whut'en, Takla Nation, and Tsay Keh Dene Nation.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
"Blaine Monaghan"
Blaine Monaghan
President & CEO
Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd.
Investor Relations:
Tel: (604) 687-4951
Email:
Website:
www.pacificridgeexploration.com
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Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
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,
which 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 the filing of the NI 43-101 report, infill drilling and resource
expansion drilling at KMZ, drill testing other Kliyul target areas, and metallurgical test work. 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 because of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
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