Mr. Brad Peters reports

PACIFIC EMPIRE OUTLINES HIGH-PRIORITY DRILL TARGETS FOR 2025 AT TRIDENT COPPER-GOLD PROJECT

Pacific Empire Minerals Corp. has provided further details on priority drill targets for its 2025 diamond drill program at the Trident property, located in north-central British Columbia. The program will consist of five holes totalling approximately 2,500 metres, designed to test both known porphyry mineralization and new high-priority porphyry and breccia targets that, despite decades of exploration on the project, have never been drill tested.

Drill plan overview

• Total program: five holes, approximately 500 metres each (2,500 metres);
• Targets: one porphyry confirmation hole at the historical A zone, two porphyry discovery holes, two breccia discovery holes.

Despite nearly 80 historical drill holes completed on the Trident property since the 1970s, this northern target area has never been tested. The primary reason is access: drill testing requires crossing a creek, which historically limited exploration. With Pacific Empire's recently granted multiyear area-based exploration permit, this will be the first-ever drill test of these targets.

Pacific Empire believes the 2025 program represents the most compelling test of the Trident property in its 50-year history of exploration. With strong geological, geochemical and geophysical evidence converging at the porphyry target, combined with the newly permitted access to undrilled breccia targets, Pacific Empire is uniquely positioned to advance toward a potential gold-enriched copper porphyry discovery.

Brad Peters, president and chief executive officer of Pacific Empire, commented: "For decades, a single creek has prevented companies from drilling the most compelling part of Trident. With our new permit in place, Pacific Empire intends to be the first to test this area. Every investor dreams of being there at the start of a discovery -- and at Pacific Empire, that moment is now."

Drill program details

The first hole of the program will be drilled at the historic A zone, where porphyry-style copper-gold mineralization was originally encountered by Falconbridge in the 1970s and confirmed by Solomon Resources in 2007. Historical drilling intersected mineralized porphyry dikes interpreted to dip north at approximately 70 degrees. Hole 1 is designed to follow these mineralized dikes to depth, with the goal of determining whether they are connected to a larger mineralized porphyry body at depth. This hole provides Pacific Empire with a unique opportunity to directly build on historical drilling and answer one of the central geological questions at Trident.

The next two holes, holes 2 and 3, will focus on the primary porphyry target area, located immediately north of the A zone. This target represents the most compelling discovery opportunity on the property. Several lines of evidence converge here: copper and gold soil anomalies appear to source from this area, while a Dighem airborne mag-EM survey flown by Solomon Resources in 2006 identified a coincident resistivity signature. In 2014, a PEMC/OZ Minerals IP survey outlined a large, strong chargeability anomaly and, most recently, a 2024 mobile magnetotelluric (MT) survey identified a resistivity high extending vertically to depth. Importantly, the MT signature is strikingly similar to that at Centerra's nearby Mt. Milligan copper-gold mine, highlighting the scale of the opportunity and underscoring Trident's potential to host a deposit of district significance.

Geologically, this porphyry target sits directly at the contact between volcanic rocks of the Chuchi Lake formation and intrusive rocks of the Hogem plutonic suite. Contacts between volcanic and intrusive rocks often act as "plumbing systems" that focus the flow of mineralizing fluids. This setting is a key control for many of British Columbia's most significant porphyry copper-gold deposits. The convergence of geochemistry, multiple geophysical datasets, and favorable geology makes holes 2 and 3 a critical test of Trident's porphyry potential.

Hole 4 will target an eastern breccia zone, located immediately east of the porphyry target. This area is characterized by a conductivity high feature and is supported by strong surface geochemistry. Historical float samples returned very high copper and gold values, including one sample containing exceptionally high barite, copper, zinc, gold and silver. The presence of these metals in combination is highly suggestive of a mineralized hydrothermal breccia system, which can host high-grade zones adjacent to porphyry systems. Drilling hole 4 will provide the first subsurface test of this anomaly.

Hole 5 will target a western breccia zone, also defined by a conductivity feature and coincident with significant copper-in-soil anomalies. Despite its favourable characteristics, this target has never been drilled, in large part due to historical access limitations. With the potential for copper-rich breccia mineralization in close proximity to the porphyry centre, this hole provides another avenue for discovery.

Unlocking untested ground

Although nearly 80 drill holes have been completed at Trident since the 1970s, none have tested the northern porphyry and breccia targets. Historically, access to this area was prevented by the need to cross a creek, which required significant planning and permitting. With Pacific Empire's recently granted multiyear area-based exploration permit, the company is now positioned to drill this area for the very first time. This makes the 2025 program a true milestone in the project's history -- opening ground that has long been considered the most prospective but remained completely untested.

Strategic importance

The Trident drill program comes at a time when global copper demand is accelerating due to electrification, grid expansion and electric vehicle adoption. At the same time, new large-scale copper discoveries have become increasingly rare, underscoring the importance of exploring in proven, mining-friendly jurisdictions such as British Columbia. With gold also consistently present as a byproduct credit in the system, Trident has the potential to deliver the combination of size, grade and precious metals that makes porphyry copper-gold deposits particularly attractive.

Pacific Empire believes the 2025 drill program represents the most compelling opportunity in the Trident property's 50-year history of exploration. The combination of historical mineralization at the A zone, overlapping geophysical and geochemical anomalies at the porphyry target and newly permitted access to never-before-drilled breccia targets creates a unique discovery opportunity. With drilling scheduled to begin in September, 2025, PEMC is well positioned to advance Trident toward what could be a significant gold-enriched copper porphyry discovery.

British Columbia is home to world-class porphyry deposits, and Trident benefits from the same infrastructure advantages -- road access, power and proximity to producing mines.

About Trident

The Trident property is a 6,618-hectare alkalic porphyry copper-gold-silver prospect located in north-central British Columbia, accessible by road. It lies approximately 50 km southeast of NorthWest Copper's Kwanika deposit and 50 km northwest of Centerra Gold's Mt. Milligan mine. Copper mineralization was first discovered in 1969, leading to the identification of the A zone by Falconbridge in the 1970s. Subsequent work by Kookaburra Gold (1988 to 1991) and Solomon Resources (2006 to 2008) confirmed the presence of copper-gold mineralization. In 2013, Pacific Empire optioned the property, and in 2022 acquired a 100-per-cent interest subject to a 2-per-cent NSR (net smelter return), half of which can be purchased for $500,000.

A review of historical drill core by Pacific Empire geologists has since confirmed the presence of hornblende-feldspar monzonite porphyry intrusions at the A zone. These intrusions are typically characterized by sheeted quartz-sulphide veins with disseminated chalcopyrite and bornite, and importantly, the highest historical copper and gold grades are directly associated with these porphyry intrusions.

About Pinnacle

The Pinnacle project is located 60 km west of Centerra Gold's Mt. Milligan copper-gold mine and 30 km 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 significant development and is anticipated to contribute to cost-effective drill support and provides additional bedrock exposure.

Qualified person's statement

Kristian Whitehead, PGeo, serves as a qualified person as defined by NI 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.