Pacific Ridge Set to Drill Untested M39 Target by Month's End

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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

Investors following copper and gold are taking note of Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (PEX:TSX.V) after the company announced its latest drill program will begin by the end of the month.

Key Takeaways

• Pacific Ridge Exploration outlined 2026 drill plans for its 100%-owned Kliyul copper-gold project in the Quesnel terrane and RDP copper-gold project in the Toodoggone mining district.
• At Kliyul, drilling will focus on the M39 target, a never-before-tested area associated with a copper-gold soil anomaly.
• At RDP, drilling will target the porphyry center between the western and eastern magnetic lobes at the Day zone.
• Crews are mobilizing now, with drilling expected to begin by the end of July 2026.
• RDP's 2026 program also includes property-scale magnetic and magnetotelluric surveys, plus additional IP surveys, to further define targets.

Drilling Begins at Two BC Projects

Located in British Columbia's Quesnel terrane, Kliyul is over 90 square kilometers wide and 100%-owned by Pacific Ridge. The Kliyul main zone (KMZ) hosts 334.1 million tonnes (Mt) grading 0.33% CuEq (copper equivalent), consisting of 0.15% copper, 0.26 g/t (grams per tonne) gold, and 0.95 g/t silver. Kliyul is a six-kilometer-long porphyry copper-gold trend, with high-priority targets outside it consisting of the M39, KCC, and Klip targets. The 2026 drill program will focus on the M39 target due to its monzonite dikes, magnetite skarn, sodic alteration, and chalcopyrite mineralized quartz veins, along with two circular magnetic anomalies. All three targets are associated with copper-gold skarn occurrences, which are common distal expressions of copper-gold porphyry mineralization and are considered vectors to underlying porphyry centers.

Also 100%-owned by Pacific Ridge, RDP consists of over 100 square kilometers and is located in the Golden Horseshoe at the southern end of the Toodoggone district. A 2025 drill program at Day, which is a target area at RDP, returned results confirming that the porphyry copper-gold-silver mineralization intersected in the easter magnetic lobe is in an east-northeast striking. The western magnetic lobe is also mineralized.

A member of the Fiore Group, Pacific Ridge is a Canadian exploration company with projects located within the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Gitxsan Nation, McLeod Lake Indian Band, Nak'azdli Whut'en, Takla Nation, and Tsay Keh Dene Nation.

Gold and Copper Markets Stay Volatile

Junior miners and exploration companies hit the ground running this year after gold rallied at a high of US$5,500 per ounce in January. Many companies chose to begin exploration or production amid these highs. While prices have since fallen, and even dipped below US$4,000 in June, rates are still up 20% compared to July 2025, and Gold.org wrote that: "[T]he stage is set for a possible breakout. On the upside, clear catalysts — a worsening economy or renewed geopolitical shock, a shift towards lower interest-rate expectations, or a wave of dip buying — could reignite gold’s momentum and lift it back towards US$4,500/oz or above."

After nine nights of the U.S. bombing Iran, and the deaths of three American soldiers over the weekend, geopolitical tension is continuing to affect gold prices for the worse. According to a July 13, 2026, report by Kitco Newswire, "The Strait of Hormuz situation is best characterized as open transit under active military contest, not a stable shipping environment and not a fully verified closure." At the time of writing, Yahoo Finance listed gold prices down to US$4,016.10 per ounce, writing: "Continued high gas prices increase the broader inflation risk — which could force the Fed to raise interest rates. Higher interest rates encourage lower gold prices, since precious metals do not pay interest."

In April, S&P Global wrote, "Gold is expected to remain volatile but structurally supported, with central bank demand and geopolitical risk helping to establish a price floor above recent correction lows."

Despite the volatility of gold, the sector as a whole is only showing signs of improvement. On May 7, 2026, Brian Taylor of Recycling Today said that the World Bank Group has predicted that overall global metals prices will rise by 17% in 2026, which would mark the first overall market increase since 2022.

Demand for copper is expected to rise due to continued use in electronics, especially with the widespread construction of new data centers and defense needs America is experiencing. A report from Businessworld claimed that "global copper demand is gradually shifting towards strategic and less price-sensitive sectors such as AI infrastructure, defense, power grids, and clean energy systems. By 2040, these categories are expected to account for nearly 45% of total copper demand, up from 32% in 2024."

Copper has experienced some volatility this year. While a bull market for traders, physical products are trending toward a bear market due to potential tariffs. Last year, the looming potential of President Donald Trump's tariffs surged copper prices in the U.S. as American investors stockpiled the metal.

This hype created an overstocking of copper, widening the gap between futures and physical worth. "Collectively, inventories at the world's main exchanges have risen by more than 500,000 tons since the start of the year," stated a March 6 article by Bloomberg News. The imagined certainty of inaccessible copper due to tariffs evaporated, however, when premiums for U.S. copper futures disappeared, and the tariffs did not materialize. Trump may choose to impose tariffs next year, but analysts and investors are skeptical since his administration chose to forego them in January 2026.

Chart is Bullish, According to Technical Analyst

On July 21, 2026, technical analyst Stewart Thomson gave Pacific Ridge a Buy signal, and a short-term price target of CA$0.30, providing a chart that he claims shows "bullish" MFI and RSI.

Thomson noted that the "rectangle base pattern follows a large bull wedge."

New Surveys Refine Future Drill Targets

"Growing demand for copper and increased political risk will lead to even more competition for copper projects in Tier 1 jurisdictions in BC," claims Pacific Ridge's investor presentation.

According to the July 20, 2026, press release: "Two thousand twenty-six exploration plans at RDP include a property-scale high-resolution magnetic survey and magnetic vector inversion modelling as well as property-scale airborne magnetotellurics to advance and identify other porphyry targets at RDP. Additional induced polarization surveys and ground magnetotellurics is planned to further refine drill targeting at Day. The 3,000 m drill program will focus on testing the interpreted porphyry center between the western and eastern lobes, and more fully defining the 2025 western lobe discovery."

The company will release drill results as they become available.

Ownership & Share Information¹

Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. has a market cap of CA$17.97 million, with 97.28 million shares outstanding. The company's 52-week range is CA$0.16-CA$0.37. Strategic Investors own 13.78% of shares, while Management & Insiders own 1.36%. The remaining 84.86% of shares are Retail.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the Quesnel terrane?
A: The Quesnel terrane is a geological belt that stretches through British Columbia and is one of Canada's most productive regions for porphyry copper-gold deposits. It hosts several operating mines and exploration projects, making it an important focus for mineral exploration.

Q: What is copper equivalent (CuEq)?

A: Copper equivalent (CuEq) is a way of expressing the combined value of copper and other metals, such as gold and silver, as a single copper grade. It allows investors to compare drill results and mineral resources that contain multiple valuable metals.

Q: What is a skarn deposit in mining?

A: A skarn deposit forms when hot, mineral-rich fluids from magma react with surrounding rocks, creating concentrations of metals such as copper, gold, iron, and zinc. Skarn mineralization can also help geologists locate larger porphyry deposits nearby.

Q: What is a magnetotelluric (MT) survey?

A: A magnetotelluric (MT) survey is a geophysical technique that measures naturally occurring electric and magnetic fields within the Earth. The data helps geologists map rock types and structures deep underground, making it useful for identifying potential mineral deposits before drilling.

Q: What is an induced polarization (IP) survey in mining?

A: An induced polarization (IP) survey is a geophysical exploration method that measures how rocks respond to an electrical current. Areas with high chargeability can indicate sulfide minerals that are commonly associated with copper and gold deposits, helping companies identify promising drill targets.