November 19, 2019 - Vancouver, BC, Canada - Pacific Empire Minerals Corp. (TSXV: PEMC) (OTCQB: PEMSF) (“Pacific Empire”, “PEMC” or the “Company”), a hybrid prospect generator focused on gold-rich copper projects in British Columbia, announces reverse circulation (“RC”) drilling is now underway at the Company’s 100% owned, 14,040 hectare Pinnacle Porphyry Project (the “Property”) located in Central British Columbia, 50 km to the west of Centerra Gold’s Mt. Milligan Mine and 20 km to the southeast of Kwanika Copper Corp.’s Kwanika Deposit.
The Company plans to test three target areas, two of which (Elbow and Sooner zones), saw partner-funded diamond drilling in 2015 and 2016, with the majority of exploration funded by OZ Minerals Exploration Pty (“OZE”) in 2015. Broad scale alteration and anomalous gold ± copper intersected at both target areas is within a much larger area of highly anomalous chargeability and is indicative of a robust gold-copper hydrothermal system in the vicinity.
In addition to the Elbow and Sooner zones, PEMC plans to drill test the Later target area, located approximately 6.5 km to the south of the Elbow zone. In 2014, OZE completed an induced polarization (“IP”) geophysical survey over the area where an ovate geophysical anomaly was identified from a previous airborne magnetic survey. Although results from the 2014 IP survey identified an anomalous chargeability signature, follow-up drilling was not completed.
The Company will leverage the exploration data obtained from OZE’s work in 2014 and 2015 with recent access and infrastructure improvements to efficiently and cost-effectively drill these three target areas. RC drilling is currently underway at the Elbow zone.
Pacific Empire’s President, Brad Peters, added, “We are excited to begin drilling at Pinnacle and look forward to exciting results over the coming months. The Pinnacle property is a fantastic example of a target-rich covered area where reverse circulation drilling is the best method for effective early-stage exploration. As a result of logging operations over significant areas of the property, additional target areas are now accessible and as a result the Later target area has also been prioritized for drill testing in 2019. As with all of our programs, we are taking a dynamic approach in the field with this program by responding to conditions to prioritize the best targets.”
Figure 1. 2019 drill target areas at Pinnacle
Elbow Zone at Pinnacle
The first exploration program ever conducted at the Elbow Zone was initiated in 2014, targeting favourable magnetic signatures in an area covered by 5 – 20 metres of glacial gravel deposits with no outcropping rock exposure. At this time, OZE conducted an extensive IP survey which outlined a 2.5 km x 1.5 km IP chargeability high anomaly that is now part of a much larger area of anomalous chargeability. The first diamond drill hole of the 2015 program tested the southern margin of the IP chargeability anomaly and intersected 94 metres grading 0.34 g/t gold (DD15ELB001) with anomalous yet erratic copper mineralization up to 0.23% copper over 2 metres in a continuous zone of quartz stockwork veining and quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration overprinting pervasive biotite alteration. The alteration assemblages encountered indicate increasingly higher temperature conditions as the shallowly dipping hole progressed to the north (refer to Figure 2). The Company will focus drilling north of the 2015/2016 drilling to vector towards the center of a potential copper-gold porphyry deposit.
Figure 2. Drill core from 2015 drilling at Elbow Zone.
Sooner Zone at Pinnacle
Exploration at the Sooner Zone in 2014, targeted favourable magnetic signatures in an area covered by 5 – 20 metres of glacial gravel deposits with no outcropping rock exposure. At this time, OZE conducted a limited IP survey which outlined a 1600 x 800 metre IP chargeability high anomaly that, similar to the signature at the Elbow Zone, is part of a much larger area of anomalous chargeability. The first diamond drill hole at this target area, drilled in 2015, tested a strong magnetic high coincident with the southern margin of the IP chargeability anomaly identified in 2014 by OZE. DD15SON001 intersected 220 metres grading 300 ppm copper from surface, with anomalous yet erratic gold mineralization up to 0.5 g/t over 2 metres, in a zone of propylitic alteration and intermittent low-grade magnetite skarn. The anomalous mineralization and alteration assemblages encountered, along with geophysical and oriented core measurements, indicate increasing temperature conditions vectoring to the northwest. The Company will be focusing RC drilling immediately to the northwest of the 2015 drilling, where a favourable magnetic signature is coincident with anomalous IP chargeability and an NNE trending conductive corridor.
Figure 3. Untested target at Sooner Zone.
Later Target Area at Pinnacle
Exploration at the Later target area in 2014, targeted an intriguing ovate magnetic signature in an area covered by glacial gravel deposits with no outcropping rock exposure. At this time, OZE conducted an extensive IP survey which outlined an anomalous IP chargeability signature that remains untested by drilling.
Qualified Person
Rory Ritchie, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for the Company, serves as a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed the scientific and technical information in this news release, approving the disclosure herein.
About Pacific Empire Minerals Corp.
PEMC is an exploration company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that employs a "hybrid prospect generator" business model and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol PEMC and on the OTCQB Markets under the symbol PEMSF.
By integrating the project generator business model with low-cost reverse circulation drilling, the company intends to leverage its portfolio by identifying, and focusing on, the highest quality projects for partnerships and advancement.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,
“Brad Peters”
President and Chief Executive Officer
Pacific Empire Minerals Corp.
Tel: +1-604-356-6246
brad@pemcorp.ca
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