Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. will commence a second year of gold exploration on its Klondike Kate project comprising four properties held within the Yukon’s South Klondike region. Exploration interest was first seen in the region in late 2008 after reports of Underworld Resource’s White Gold discovery. Recently, Underworld accepted a takeover offer from Kinross valued at approximately $118-million for acquisition of its 1.4-million-ounce White Gold deposit. With a major gold company now in the South Klondike, coupled with 30 junior exploration companies reporting activity, additional gold discovery is anticipated. Pacific Ridge acquired its South Klondike holdings through a combination of the company’s principals having prior exploration experience and historic exploration data in the region as well as contacts with Yukon prospectors.

Pacific Ridge, encouraged by its 2009 exploration results and overall discovery success reported in the South Klondike, plans an initial exploration expenditure of $1.3-million for its Mariposa, Gold Cap, Polar/Stewart and Eureka Dome properties.

Mariposa, comprising 246 mineral claims and covering 50 square kilometres, is located 50 kilometres southeast of White Gold. Pacific Ridge holds an option to earn a 100-per-cent interest subject to a 2-per-cent royalty from the Tintina syndicate. The Pacific Ridge 2009 exploration program included prospecting, historic data compilation, geologic mapping and initial soils geochemical surveys. Mariposa covers a 14-kilometre length of geological and aeromagnetic signatures bearing similarities to the White Gold and Kaminak’s Coffee Creek discovery.

Mariposa has seen a 100-year history of placer gold mining, which in one area, has produced hackly nuggets suggesting proximity to potential lode gold sources. The property contains a seven-kilometre (open-ended) zone of quartz mica schist rocks hosting sulphide mineralization with grab samples assaying to three grams per tonne (g/t) gold. Yet to be more fully defined this season, geochemical anomalies in soils range from 20 parts per billion (ppb) to 1,300 ppb gold.

The 2010 exploration program, budgeted at $1.0-million, will include expanding geochemical sampling grids to delineate the ultimate dimensions of gold anomalies. Trenching will then be directed to expose bedrock and the facilitation of sampling. Drilling of selected gold targets is proposed during the later part of the season.

The 56-claim Gold Cap property covers 12 square kilometres and adjoins the northeast boundary of Underworld’s White Gold property. Gold Cap is 100 per cent owned and was staked by Pacific Ridge on the basis of an anomalous gold silt sample reported by the Geological Survey of Canada. The Pacific Ridge 2009 exploration program saw soil sampling within a two- by four-kilometre grid, flanking an aeromagnetic anomaly. An open-ended gold, nickel and arsenic anomaly includes gold in soils ranging to 290 ppb gold, indicating stronger values building toward its open-ended northerly trend. The 2010 exploration program, budgeted at $100,000, will extend the geochemical survey three kilometres to the northwest. Trenching will be contingent on additional geochemical results.

Polar/Stewart, consisting of 149 mineral claims, covers 31 square kilometres adjoining Gold Cap to the west and claims held by Underworld to the south. Pacific Ridge holds an option to earn a 100-per-cent interest subject to a 2-per-cent royalty, from prospector Shawn Ryan. The property was acquired on the basis of favourable geology, an aeromagnetic anomaly and reconnaissance soil sampling yielding gold values reaching 634 ppb gold. The 2010 exploration program, budgeted at $100,000, will include grid-controlled geochemical soil sampling followed by trenching where warranted.

Eureka Dome, 100 per cent owned by Pacific Ridge, with the 156 Eureka and Moose claims covers 33 square kilometres. Eureka Dome can be partially accessed by road and joins the eastern boundary of claims held under option by Golden Predator.

Notable are placer gold occurrences reported in most creeks draining the property coupled with geochemical anomalies indicating the presence of a high-level epithermal style alteration system. Anomalous arsenic (3,000 ppb) and mercury (17 parts per million (ppm)) occur within silicified and brecciated rocks. Prior workers reported breccia float samples grading to 14 grams gold, and silt samples running to 900 ppb on immediately adjacent properties. The 2010 exploration program, budgeted at $100,000, will include geochemical sampling within a by four-kilometre grid covering the anomalous areas of brecciated rocks to then be followed by trenching and sampling.

Elsewhere, Pacific Ridge continues to maintain its interests in the Baker Lake uranium project in Nunavut and the Fyre Lake copper, gold project in southeast Yukon as well as the Tumbler phosphate project in northeastern British Columbia.

Pacific Ridge’s disclosure of a technical or scientific nature has been reviewed by George Norman, PGeo, exploration manger for Pacific Ridge and a qualified person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.