Pacific Ridge drills 0.41% CuEq over 588 metres at Kliyul, British Columbia
Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. [PEX-TSXV; PEXZF-OTCQB] reported that drill hole KLI-22-041 returned 588 metres of 0.41% copper equivalent (CuEq) or 0.56 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq), including 278 metres of 0.67% CuEq or 0.92 g/t AuEq, from the Kliyul copper-gold porphyry project, located in the prolific Quesnel trough in north-central British Columbia.
The program comprised 7,014.7 metres in 12 drill holes, the largest ever drill program at the project. Results of the first six drill holes, holes KLI-22-39 to KLI-22-44, are reported below.
Highlights included drill hole KLI-22-041 that returned 588.0 metres of 0.41% CuEq or 0.56 g/t AuEq (0.12% copper, 0.39 g/t gold, and 0.90 g/t silver), including 278.0 metres of 0.67% CuEq or 0.92 g/t AuEq (0.14% copper, 0.72 g/t gold, and 0.95 g/t silver).
Every drill hole returned significant intersections at or above 0.54% CuEq or 0.74 g/t AuEq. Drilling successfully extended the Kliyul Main Zone (KMZ) mineralized body to the north, south, and at depth; it now measures approximately 550 metres (WSW to ENE) x 200 metres (NNW-SSE) x 600 metres vertical depth.
Drilling confirmed bounding faults of the KMZ fault block do not cut off mineralization to the north or the west. KMZ remains open in every direction.
“Results from the first six drill holes completed at Kliyul in 2022 are a game changer,” said Blaine Monaghan, President and CEO. “We intersected significant porphyry copper-gold mineralization in every drill hole, materially expanded the KMZ mineralized body, and confirmed that KMZ is not fault bound to the north or to the west. We eagerly await the results from the remaining six holes, which included several big step-out holes to the west and east of KMZ.”
Results of the first six drill holes (3,271.8 m) have expanded the KMZ mineralized body to the north, south and at depth. Furthermore, drilling confirmed the east-west trending Valley Fault is a mineralized structural zone at depth and does not cut off the KMZ system on the north. Results suggest KMZ and Kliyul North mineralization is contiguous below an approximate 300 metres vertical depth. Drilling also confirmed a modelled fault west of KMZ (informally known as the Lui Fault), and significant mineralization was intersected in the outlying western block starting at about 400 metres vertical depth. The KMZ mineralization appears to be hosted in a high standing fault block relative to adjacent fault blocks, which are also mineralized.
The first six drill holes (3,271.8 m) of the 2022 exploration program at Kliyul tested three target areas, KMZ, Kliyul North, and Kliyul West.
Results of the first six drill holes have expanded the east-northeast trending KMZ mineralized body to the north, south and at depth such that it now has an approximate 340 metres x 200 metres maximum footprint in plan and continues to about 530 metres vertical depth.
Highlights included 21.4 metres of 0.76% CuEq or 1.04 g/t AuEq starting from 22.0 metres (KLI-22-039); 266.5 metres of 0.60% CuEq or 0.82 g/t AuEq starting from 89.0 metres (KLI-22-040); and 336.0 metres of 0.61% CuEq or 0.84 g/t AuEq starting from 106.0 metres (KLI-22-041).
Importantly, drilling confirmed the east-west trending Valley Fault which defines the KMZ block on the north is a mineralized structural zone at depth and does not cut off the KMZ system; also, that the northwest-trending Lui Fault which defines the KMZ block on the west is a mineralized structural zone at depth.
Over 60 km2 in size, Kliyul is a copper-gold porphyry project located 50 km southeast of the Centerra Gold Kemess Mine and close to existing infrastructure. Kliyul comprises nine porphyry copper-gold target areas along two main trends: the 1.5 km-long east-northeast Valley Fault Trend, which includes its five fault-defined target areas (Kliyul West, KMZ, Kliyul North, East Wedge, and Kliyul East); and the 6-km-long northwest-trending Divide Lake Fault Trend which includes Ginger, Parish Hill, Bap Ridge, and M-39 target areas.
KMZ is the most intensely explored target area at Kliyul, with 36 drill holes (6,608 m) drilled prior to Pacific Ridge’s 2022 drill program. Most of the historical drilling, not including Pacific Ridge’s 2021 drill campaign, targeted near-surface copper-gold mineralization.
Pacific Ridge can acquire up to a 75% interest in Kliyul and Redton from AuRico Metals Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Centerra Gold Inc. [CG-TSX; CGAU-NYSE], by making cash payments totaling $160,000, issuing 3.5 million shares, and spending $7.0 million on exploration by December 31, 2025. The company expects to have made the required exploration expenditures to earn the 75% interest in Kliyul and Redton this year.