Mr. Brad Peters reports

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

Expert Geophysics Ltd. will be conducting an airborne MobileMT survey at Pacific Empire Minerals Corp.'s 100-per-cent-owned Trident and Pinnacle copper-gold projects in the South Hogem copper-gold belt prior to the end of March.

Highlights:

• Magnetotelluric (MT) survey is scheduled to begin March 27, 2024;
• 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 70.07 metres of 0.69 per cent copper (DDH-1971-13), 100.00 metres of 0.59 per cent copper and 0.18 gram per tonne, including 2.00 metres of 2.73 per cent copper and 0.36 gram per tonne (DDH 2007-2);
• The MT survey will also cover an additional target located on Pacific Empire's 100-per-cent-owned Pinnacle property, situated directly west and adjacent to the Trident project; utilization of this modern geophysical data set will facilitate the identification and prioritization of target areas for drilling currently anticipated during the summer/fall 2024 exploration season.

Brad Peters, president, chief executive officer and a director, commented: "We are excited to begin the survey and are looking forward to being able to see to depths of over one kilometre beneath the surface at our 100-per-cent-owned Trident and Pinnacle projects, west of Centerra Gold's operating Mount Milligan copper-gold mine. The objective is to identify potential plumbing systems because, if you are looking for large copper deposits, you need a large plumbing system to deliver the necessary fluids and metals. Our goal is simple -- 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/fall 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/resistivity 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 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 kilometres using a 200-metre-line-spacing grid.

The survey will be performed with an Astar 350 B2 helicopter provided by Heli Source Ltd. Expert Geophysics 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 Expert Geophysics' offices in Toronto, Canada. The final results and resulting products are expected to be available to the Pacific Empire exploration team within three weeks after the completion of the survey. Surveying is planned to commence on or around March 27, 2024, and is expected to take three to five days to complete.

About mobile magnetotelluric surveys

The latest development in the airborne MobileMT system provides a depth of investigation from near surface to over one kilometre and detects resistivity variations across a wide range, encompassing conductive targets and structures as well as highly resistive ones.

Porphyry and epithermal mineralization systems develop in conditions of active subduction, and they are characterized by a wide variety of structural, lithological and alteration patterns, which, at least partially, can be depicted in geoelectrical images.

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 kilometres to the southeast of Northwest Copper Corp.'s Kwanika deposit and 50 kilometres to the northwest of Centerra Gold's Mount Milligan mine. The property covers 6,618 hectares and is endowed with well-established logging roads, providing important and 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 IP (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 Empire optioned the property and, in 2014, in turn, Pacific Empire 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. One-half (1 per cent) of the 2-per-cent net smelter return royalty 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.

About Pinnacle

The Pinnacle project is located 60 kilometres to the west of Centerra Gold's Mount Milligan copper-gold mine and 30 kilometres to the southeast of Northwest Copper's Kwanika copper-gold deposit in a proven copper-gold porphyry district. Access to the Pinnacle project 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.

"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, resulting in significantly improved access to the property," commented Mr. Peters.

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.

British Columbia is a green copper jurisdiction with abundant hydroelectric power, access and infrastructure in close proximity to the end market.

We seek Safe Harbor.