Mr. Brad Peters reports

PACIFIC EMPIRE ANNOUNCES ENGAGEMENT OF EXPERT GEOPHYSICS LTD. TO CONDUCT MOBILE MAGNETOTELLURIC SURVEY AT TRIDENT

Pacific Empire Minerals Corp. has engaged Expert Geophysics Ltd. to conduct an airborne MobileMT survey at its 100-per-cent-owned Trident and Pinnacle copper-gold projects in the South Hogem copper-gold belt.

Highlights:

• Magnetotelluric (MT) survey method capable of detecting basement electromagnetic (EM) conductors and anomalous resistivity zones which are indicative of potential copper-gold porphyry systems.
• Planned surveying totals 164 line-kilometres to provide coverage of primary target area (historical assays at Trident which include DDH-1971-13: 70.07 m at 0.69 per cent copper, DDH 2007-2: 100 m at 0.59 per cent Cu and 0.18 gram per tonne gold, including two m at 2.73 per cent Cu and 0.36 g/t Au).
• The MT survey will also cover an additional target located on Pacific's 100-per-cent-owned Pinnacle property situated directly west and adjacent to Trident. Utilization of this modern geophysical data set will facilitate the identification and prioritization of target areas for drilling currently anticipated during the summer 2024 exploration season.

Brad peters, president, chief executive officer and director, commented: "The aim of this MT survey at our 100-per-cent-owned Trident and Pinnacle projects, west of Centerra Gold's operating Mount Milligan copper-gold mine, is to identify potential plumbing systems and discover the next gold-enriched copper porphyry deposit within this district. Once results are received and analyzed for this MT survey, we currently anticipate drilling these targets during the summer 2024 field season. Trident for the very first time is 100 per cent owned by a public company with an updated porphyry geological model established by our skilled technical team."

Planned survey

The purpose of the survey is to identify conductivity anomalies that may represent conduits for hydrothermal fluids critical in the formation of porphyry copper-gold deposits. These conduits have the potential to represent critical plumbing systems responsible for the formation of copper porphyry deposits. The gathering of both resistivity and conductivity imaging of the surface to a depth of one kilometre through deploying an airborne MobileMT (Mobile magnetotelluric) system will provide key information pertaining to source fluid conduits and structures. This important step will provide valuable insights and aid to further both known and unknown exploration targets destined for follow-up diamond drilling programs.

In addition, complementary VLF (very-low-frequency) data will be collected and interpreted to provide valuable near-surface EM (electromagnetic) information. The survey design plan is to conduct approximately 164 line km using a 200 m line spacing grid.

The survey will be performed with an Astar 350 B2 helicopter provided by Heli Source Ltd. Expert Geophysics Ltd. (EGL) will provide all necessary instrumentation for installation on the helicopter, as well as base stations and field workstations (data processing system) to be used for quality control and processing management during the collection of the airborne data in the field.

The final data processing, colour imaging and mapping will be performed at EGL's offices in Toronto, Canada. The final results and resulting products are expected to be available to the Pacific exploration team within three weeks after the completion of the survey. Surveying is planned to commence in late February to early March and expected to take three to five days to complete.

About Trident

The Trident property is an exploration-stage property hosting an alkalic porphyry copper-gold-silver prospect with district-scale potential that is accessible by vehicle. The property is located approximately 50 km to the southeast of NorthWest Copper Corp.'s Kwanika deposit and 50 km to the northwest of Centerra Gold's Mount Milligan mine. The property covers 6,618 hectares endowed with well-established logging roads providing important efficient access for exploration programs.

Copper mineralization on the property was first discovered in 1969, while exploration crews were following up on anomalous stream sediment samples. The following year, Falconbridge optioned the property and over the next two years completed induced polarization and magnetic surveys, geological mapping, soil sampling, and diamond drilling. This work led to the discovery of the A zone.

Additional exploration programs were completed by Kookaburra Gold Corp. from 1988 through 1991, Solomon Resources Ltd. from 2006 through 2008. In 2013, Pacific optioned the property and in 2014, in turn, it optioned the property to Oz Minerals, which completed that same year an IP survey and completed a two-drill-hole, diamond drill program at Trident.

In 2022, Pacific Empire acquired a 100-per-cent interest in the property in exchange for granting the vendors a 2-per-cent net smelter return royalty (NSR). One-half (1 per cent) of the 2-per-cent NSR may be purchased for $500,000 by Pacific Empire.

Prior to 2014, known mineralization on the property was believed to be associated with fracture and/or shear zones structures striking 120 degrees and dipping 75 degrees toward the northeast. A review of historical drill core by the Pacific Empire exploration team has led to a much different interpretation with respect to the nature of known mineralization on the property. The most important observation was the determination of the presence of hornblende-feldspar monzonite porphyry intrusions detected within drill core obtained from the A zone. These types of porphyry intrusions are typically characterized by sheeted quartz sulphide veins and disseminated chalcopyrite and bornite residing immediately adjacent to and within the porphyry dikes. Other observations include: the highest grades noted in historical drilling can be seen to be directly associated with intervals where such porphyry intrusions occur.

"Between our 100-per-cent-owned Trident and Pinnacle projects runs the Klawli river. The gold flakes and nuggets in the vial displayed on the map were collected from that location on the Klawli river. It is this and other geochemical evidence gathered by the PEMC exploration team which leads us to postulate the potential for a gold-enriched copper system nearby on either Trident, Pinnacle or possibly both projects. To date, visible gold has been observed in outcrop at Trident, placer gold discovered in the nearby Klawli river gravels and as well gold detected in drill core from Pinnacle. All three of these known occurrences of gold and their respective locations suggests there may be a shallow buried, large-scale, gold-enriched, copper porphyry deposit within our district-scale land package," commented Mr. Peters, president, CEO and director of Pacific Empire.

About Pinnacle

The Pinnacle project is located 60 km to the west of Centerra Gold's Mount Milligan copper-gold mine and 30 km to the southeast of NorthWest Copper's Kwanika copper-gold deposit in a proven copper-gold porphyry district. Access to the Pinnacle is by road, including a new and expanding network of logging roads and trails throughout the main target areas. This improved access is a major development and is anticipated to contribute to cost-effective drill support and bedrock exposure.

"We are truly excited to have had the Pinnacle property returned to PEMC. The Teako exploration team meaningfully advanced the property including fully permitting for IP geophysics and diamond drilling. Additionally, work by Teako advanced our understanding of the Aplite Ridge target area. Over the past two years significant logging operations have developed an extensive road network that now covers the entirety of the southern half of the property providing new outcrop exposure and efficient access. The 2023 forest fires dramatically affected the property leading to even further future opportunities.

Qualified person

Kristian Whitehead, PGeo, 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.

Pacific Empire is a copper exploration company based in Vancouver, B.C., and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol PEMC. The company has a district-scale land position in north-central British Columbia totalling 22,541 hectares.

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